Data processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

In an image processing apparatus, the data form of data to be processed by an application program is stored and the data forms of data are stored. Processing by the application program, and the data to be processed are represented by respective peculiar icons, and the correspondence between the icon representing the processing by the application program and the icon representing the data to be processed by the application program is displayed based on the stored-information. Thus, the user can operate with the data without being aware of the correspondence between data and an application which can process the data.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a data processing apparatus in which, forexample, the user can operate desired data preserved in a plurality ofdata processing apparatuses having a plurality of users.

2. Description of the Related Art

In a conventional data processing apparatus having a plurality of users,data used by the users are preserved in a predetermined portion of theapparatus, such as a memory or the like, determined by the dataprocessing apparatus. When one of the users intends to operate with datawhich agrees with specific conditions, the data can be operated withaccording to a procedure peculiar to the data processing apparatus. Forexample, when the user intends to operate with the data of anapplication program, the data can be operated with according to aprocedure peculiar to the application program. If the data is present inanother data processing apparatus connected to the apparatus by somemeans, the data can be operated with according to a predeterminedprocedure, such as by assigning the data processing apparatus in whichthe data is present, or the like.

In a conventional data processing apparatus utilized by a plurality ofusers, data used by the respective users are stored in predeterminedstorage portions. If a user intends to operate with data which agreeswith desired conditions, the data can be operated with according to aprocedure peculiar to the data processing apparatus, such as assigning aportion and conditions of storage, or the like.

In the above-described conventional approach, however, the user musthave specialized knowledge peculiar to each data processing apparatus,and must learn complicated operations for each computer system.Furthermore, when operating with data present in other data processingapparatuses, the user must know in which processing apparatus the datais present. For example, when operating with data of an application, theuser must, in advance, have specialized knowledge, such as executableprocessing for each application program, and must know, for example, thekinds of data which can be referred to or updated, or in which portionsthe data are stored. The user also must know the kinds of applicationprograms and processing which can be referred to or updated for eachdata.

In a plurality of conventional computer systems utilized by a pluralityof users, data used by the respective users are generated, for example,in various kinds of formats, that is, data forms, for the respectivecomputer systems, and are preserved, for example, in floppy disks,optical disks, magneto-optical disks or hard disks. Accordingly, if, forexample, one of the users intends to obtain data of a differentapplication in other computer system, copy and utilize the obtaineddata, the user must perform the operation of converting the form of thedata so that the data can be adapted to his own application.

In the above-described conventional computer system, however, whenobtaining data of a different application, copying and utilizing theobtained data, the user must perform the operation of converting theform of the data, causing an inferior efficiency of the operation.

In one or a plurality of conventional computer systems utilized by aplurality of users, data which can be disposed by one of the users arepreserved in a predetermined portion of the computer system so that thedata can be physically disposed by a procedure peculiar to the computer,or by the process of starting the computer system. The region where thedata have been disposed can be utilized by the operation of the user whohas been permitted to physically dispose the data, or the operation ofstarting again the computer system.

In the above-described conventional computer system, however, since datawhich can be disposed are preserved in a predetermined portion of thecomputer system and are pysically disposed by a procedure peculiar tothe computer, or the processing of starting the computer system, dataregions cannot be efficiently utilized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in consideration of theabove-described problems.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a data processingapparatus in which the user can operate with desired data without beingaware of where the data is stored.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a dataprocessing apparatus in which the user need not be aware of thecorrespondence between data and an application program which can processthe data.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a dataprocessing apparatus in which the user can obtain and copy data of adifferent application with a simple operation.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a dataprocessing apparatus in which the user can efficiently utilize dataregions.

According to one aspect, the present invention which achieves theseobjectives relates to a data processing apparatus comprising firststorage means for storing the data form of data to be processed by anapplication program, second storage means for storing the data forms ofdata, means for representing processing by the application program andthe data to be processed with respective peculiar icons, and displaymeans for displaying the correspondence between the icon of theapplication program and the icon of the data to be processed by theapplication program based on the first and second storage means.

According to another aspect, the present invention which achieves theseobjectives relates to a data processing apparatus for controlling dataunder a hierarchical structure, comprising retrieval-condition settingmeans for setting retrieval conditions for retrieval, retrieval meansfor further retrieving hierarchies lower than a hierarchy whichsatisfies the conditions set by the retrieval-condition setting means,and presentation means for presenting a result of the retrieval by theretrieval means.

According to still another aspect, the present invention which achievethese objectives relates to a data processing apparatus for controllingdata under a hierarchical structure, comprising retrieval-conditionsetting means for setting conditions for retrieving data, retrievalmeans for retrieving data by the conditions set by theretrieval-condition setting means, and display means for displaying dataobtained by the retrieval so that the form of display for data of lowhierarchies differs from the form of display for other data.

According to still another aspect, the present invention which achievesthese objectives relates to a data processing apparatus comprisingcontrol means for controlling access information representingaccessibility of data, retrieval-condition setting means for settingconditions for retrieving data, retrieval means for retrieving data bythe conditions set by the retrieval-condition setting means, andretrieval-execution control means for controlling the execution of theretrieval by the retrieval means based on the access information.

According to still another aspect, the present invention which achievesthese objectives relates to a data processing apparatus comprisingcontrol means for controlling access information representingaccessibility of data, retrieval-condition setting means for settingconditions for retrieving data, retrieval means for retrieving data bythe conditions set by the retrieval-condition setting means, and displaymeans for separately displaying accessible data and nonaccessible dataas a result of the retrieval processing by the retrieval means based onthe access information.

According to still another aspect, the present invention which achievesthese objectives relates to a data processing apparatus comprising aplurality of data storage means for storing respective data utilized bya plurality of applications, determination means for determining theforms of data generated or edited by the plurality of applications, andconversion means for converting the data form of a first applicationdetermined by the determination means into a data form suitable forprocessing a second application when data generated or edited by thefirst application is copied to data storage means for the secondapplication.

According to still another aspect, the present invention which achievesthese objectives relates to a data processing apparatus comprising datacontrol means for controlling data, disposal control means forcontrolling data to be disposed, disposal means for disposing datacontrolled by the disposal control means, and setting means for settinga time. Data controlled by the disposal control means is disposed by thedisposal means based on the time set by the setting means.

According to still another aspect, the present invention which achievesthese objectives relates to a data processing apparatus comprising datacontrol means for controlling data, disposal control means forcontrolling data to be disposed, disposal means for disposing datacontrolled by the disposal control means, and setting means for settingconditions. When the set conditions are satisfied, data controlled bythe disposal control means is disposed by the disposal means.

According to still another aspect, the present invention which achievesthese objectives relates to a data processing apparatus comprising datacontrol means for controlling data, disposal control means forcontrolling data to be disposed, disposal means for disposing datacontrolled by the disposal control means, and setting means for settingthe size of data. When the size of data equals at least the size set bythe setting means, the data controlled by the disposal control means isdisposed by the disposal means.

According to still another aspect, the present invention which achievesthese objectives relates to a data processing apparatus furthercomprising changing means for changing the set time, conditions or size.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data processing apparatus according to afirst embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating rooms and offices in a desktop controlsystem;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of display of a room window of auser;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of display of a desktop window;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of display of a cabinet window;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of display of a library window;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of display of a library-binderwindow;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of display of a tag-tray window;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of display of an open-shelfwindow;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of display of an open-traywindow;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of display of an exit window;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of display of exits included inan office;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of display of exits included ina room;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of data information;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of application information;

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of library information;

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of user information;

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of office information;

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of group information;

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of object control information;

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of open-object controlinformation;

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of library-retrieval-orderinformation;

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of opening abinder within a cabinet;

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of the processing of opening a binder;

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of copying databetween a cabinet and a binder;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart of data copying processing between a cabinet anda binder;

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of opening anapplication object;

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of the processing of starting an applicationprogram;

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of opening anapplication object;

FIG. 30 is a flowchart of the processing of starting an applicationprogram;

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of opening anapplication object;

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of opening adata object;

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of the processing of starting an applicationprocessing;

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of opening adata object;

FIG. 35 is a flowchart of the processing of starting an applicationprogram;

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of copying anapplication object between a cabinet and desktop;

FIG. 37 is a flowchart of the processing of moving an applicationobject;

FIG. 38 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of dragging adata object from a cabinet to desktop;

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing an example of display by connecting anapplication object to a data object;

FIG. 40 is a flowchart of the processing of performing display byconnecting an application object to a data object;

FIG. 41 is a diagram showing an example of highlight display of therelationship between an application object and a data object;

FIG. 42 is a flowchart of the processing of performing highlight displayof the relationship between an application object and a data object;

FIG. 43 is a diagram showing an example of display of guidance byattraction;

FIG. 44 is a flowchart of the processing of starting an application byguidance by attraction;

FIG. 45 is a diagram showing an example of display of guidance byreaction;

FIG. 46 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of forming anopen tray;

FIG. 47 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of setting adisclosure operation;

FIG. 48 is a flowchart of the processing of forming an open tray;

FIG. 49 is a flowchart of the processing of a disclosure operation;

FIG. 50 is a flowchart of the processing of setting a disclosureoperation;

FIG. 51 is a flowchart of the processing of opening an exit;

FIG. 52 is a flowchart of the processing of forming a tag;

FIG. 53 is a flowchart of the processing of opening a tag;

FIG. 54 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of disposingdata;

FIG. 55 is a flowchart of the processing of disposing data;

FIG. 56 is a flowchart of the processing of monitoring data disposal;

FIG. 57 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of forming alibrary binder;

FIG. 58 is a flowchart of the processing of forming a library binder;

FIG. 59 is a flowchart of the processing of registering library data;

FIG. 60 is a flowchart of the processing of retrieving library data;

FIG. 61 is a diagram showing an example of display of a clipping-boardwindow;

FIG. 62 is a flowchart of the processing of registering clipped data;

FIG. 63 is a flowchart of the processing of retrieving clipped data;

FIG. 64 is a diagram showing an example of CCP (cutting, copying andpasting)-data control information;

FIG. 65 is a flowchart of the processing of registering data in a CCPbuffer;

FIG. 66 is a flowchart of the processing of retrieving data registeredin a CCP buffer;

FIG. 67 is a diagram showing an example of display of a result ofretrieval;

FIG. 68 is a flowchart of retrieval processing;

FIG. 69 is a diagram showing an example of display of a result ofretrieval;

FIG. 70 is a flowchart of retrieval processing;

FIG. 71 is a diagram showing an example of display of the details of aresult of retrieval;

FIGS. 72 and 73 are flowcharts of retrieval processing;

FIGS. 74 and 75 are flowcharts of retrieval processing which does notdepend on hierarchy;

FIG. 76 is a flowchart of retrieval processing;

FIG. 77 is a flowchart of the processing of opening a retrieval-resultwindow;

FIG. 78 is a flowchart of the processing of displaying a result ofretrieval;

FIGS. 79(A) and 79(B) are diagrams showing examples of targets to beretrieved;

FIG. 80 is a diagram showing an example of display of a result ofretrieval;

FIG. 81 is a flowchart of the processing of starting an application fora result of retrieval;

FIG. 82 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of starting anapplication for a result of retrieval;

FIG. 83 is a flowchart of retrieval processing;

FIGS. 84 and 85 are flowcharts of the processing of displaying a resultof retrieval in consideration of disclosed information;

FIG. 86 is a flowchart of retrieval processing in consideration ofdisclosed information;

FIG. 87 is a flowchart of the processing of displaying a result ofretrieval in consideration of disclosed information;

FIG. 88 is a flowchart of the processing of starting an application byguidance by reaction;

FIG. 89 is a diagram illustrating a picture frame indicating the floppydisk within the exit shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 90 is a diagram illustrating floppy-disk control information;

FIG. 91 is a diagram illustrating data control information of a floppydisk;

FIG. 92 is a diagram illustrating an operational picture frame whenopening a floppy disk;

FIG. 93 is a flowchart illustrating opening processing on theoperational picture frame shown in FIG. 92;

FIG. 94 is a diagram illustrating an operational picture frame whencopying data on a floppy disk to a binder;

FIG. 95 is a flowchart illustrating copying processing on theoperational picture frame shown in FIG. 94;

FIG. 96 is a diagram illustrating a picture frame when newly registeringa floppy disk;

FIG. 97 is a flowchart showing newly registering processing in thepicture frame shown in FIG. 96;

FIG. 98 is a flowchart showing the processing of changing the deadlineof data disposal;

FIG. 99 is a diagram illustrating data control information in a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 100 is a flowchart illustrating data disposal processing in thesecond embodiment;

FIG. 101 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of changing theconditions and time of data disposal in the second embodiment;

FIG. 102 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of monitoring datadisposal in the second embodiment;

FIG. 103 is a diagram illustrating data control information in a thirdembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 104 is a flowchart illustrating data disposal processing in thethird embodiment; and

FIG. 105 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of changing the sizelimit of data to be disposed shown in FIG. 103.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Description of the Apparatus

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data processing apparatus according to afirst embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, CRT (cathtode-raytube) 1 displays information of data being processed by.an applicationprogram, various kinds of message menus, or the like. Video RAM (randomaccess memory)(hereinafter termed a VRAM) 2 develops an image displayedon the picture surface of CRT 1. Bit manipulating unit (hereinaftertermed a BMU) 3 controls data transfer between memories or between amemory and each device. Keyboard 4 includes various kinds of keys forperforming processing, such as document editing and the like. Pointingdevice (hereinafter termed a PD) 5 is used for indicating an icon or thelike on an image. CPU (central processing unit) 6 controls the entireapparatus. ROM (read-only memory) 7 stores, for example, programs forexecuting processing procedures of CPU-6. ROM 7 also stores applicationprograms relating to data processing, error processing programs, andprograms relating to flowcharts shown, for example, in FIG. 26. RAM 8 isused as work areas when CPU 5 executes various kinds of programs,temporary refuge areas during error processing, and the like. There arealso shown hard-disk drive (hereinafter termed an HD) 9, and floppy-diskdrive (hereinafter termed an FDD) 10. Each disk is used for preservingapplication programs (to be described later), data, libraries or thelike. Network interface (hereinafter termed a Net-I/F) 11 performs thecontrol and diagnosis of data on a network in order to perform datatransfer with other data processing apparatuses via the network. I/O(input/output) bus (comprising an address bus, a data bus, and a controlbus) 12 connects the above-described respective units.

Concept of the Desktop Control System

In the present embodiment, the entirety of application programs forprocessing data, and programs which perform the processing ofcontrolling data processed by the application programs, providing theuser with an environment for operating with the data, executing theapplication programs, and providing the executed application programswith data is termed a “desktop control system”. An example of display ofan actual desktop control system comprises a plurality of windows on awindow system, as shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, data is operated with byan input from keyboard 4, pointing device 5 or the like.

Next, a description will be provided of various kinds of concepts in thedesktop control system.

FIG. 2 represents rooms 13 and offices 14 as concepts of a user'soperational environment in a desktop control system. Room 13 is aconcept indicating a space of environment possessed by a user. Office 14is a concept indicating a space comprising a group of rooms 13 includedtherein. Office 14 represents an office in the actual society, and room13 represents a room which serves as an operational environment of eachoperator working in the office.

For example, a computer's physical filing system is defined as office14. A plurality of rooms 13 are present in each of offices 14 dispersedwith a plurality of computers connected by a network. The function ofproviding an operational environment included in room 13 will bedescribed with respect to the description of an operational object (tobe described later). A user has his own room 13 in an appropriate office14, receives services of the desktop control system in the room 13, andcan start an application program or perform processing of data byoperating an operational object. The user also can access rooms 13 ofother users in the same office 14 or rooms 13 in other offices 14, andcan perform the same operation as in his own room 13 within a permittedrange. Furthermore, the user can also perform the processing of movingand copying data between a plurality of rooms 13.

The operational object (object) indicates data and a set of datarepresented on a window as an icon, and the function provided by thedesktop control system in order to provide means of access to thedesktop control system by the user.

Next, a description will be provided of operational objects providedthrough the user interface with reference to respective drawings shownin FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, while various kinds of objects belong to room“Takada”, the situation is the same for room “Sato” and room “Watanabe”.

FIG. 3 illustrates room window G01 which represents room 13 of a userrealized on a window system. Objects present within room window G01 willbe described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

Desktop 15 indicated by desktop object G02 is an object indicating thefunction of controlling an application program which is one of thefunctions of the desktop control system. By performing an openingoperation of desktop object G02, a window including objects withindesktop (to be described later) is displayed.

Cabinet 16 indicated by cabinet object G03 is an object indicating thetop-level entry of the function of controlling data formed by anapplication program in a hierarchical structure. By performing anopening operation of cabinet object G03, a window including objectswithin a cabinet (to be described later) is displayed.

Library 17 indicated by library object G04 is an object indicating theentry of the portion where a library, serving as (common) auxiliary datato be referred to when an application program processes data, is stored.By performing an opening operation of library object G04, a windowincluding objects within a library is displayed.

Tag tray 19 indicated by tag-tray object G05 is an object whichrepresents a virtual entry for accessing binder 20 or data 18 (to bedescribed later) without following the hierarchical structure of thecabinet. Tag 21 represents an object to be stored. By performing anopening operation of tag-tray object G05, a window including objectswithin a tag tray (to be described later) is displayed.

Open shelves 21 indicated by open-shelf object G06 correspond to anobject which realizes an operation for permitting other users to referto or update data 18 or binders 20 in cabinet 16 within the user's ownroom 13 (hereinafter termed a disclosure operation), and preservesinformation for that operation. By performing an opening operation ofopen-shelf object G06, a window including objects within open shelves(to be described later) is displayed.

Refuse bin 23 indicated by refuse-bin object G07 is an object whichcontrols disposal of data. Clipping board 24 indicated by clipping-boardobject G08 is an object which provides a function for exchanging data 18or a part thereof to be processed by applications 26, between differentapplications 26.

Exit 25 indicated by exit object G09 is an object representing a meansof accessing another user's room 13 or office 14. By performing anopening operation of exit object G09, a window including objects withinan exit (to be described later) is displayed.

Although not operational objects, G10 represents a title which displaysthe user's name and the name of the displayed window, G11 represents anoperational button for instructing an operation within the window, G12represents a help button for displaying the contents of a help menu ofan operation, and G13 represents scrolling bars for scrolling an iconpresent outside the window to display the icon.

FIG. 4 illustrates desktop window G14 in a state in which desktop G02 isopened. A description will be provided of operational objects withindesktop window G14 with reference to FIG. 4.

Application 26 indicated by application object G15 is an object foroperating (starting) an application program. The operation ofapplication object G15 will be described later.

FIG. 5 illustrates cabinet window G16 in a state in which cabinet objectG03 is opened. A description will be provided of operational objectswithin cabinet window G16 with reference to FIG. 5.

Binder 20 indicated by binder object G17 is an object indicating a nodeunder cabinet 16 which controls data in the hierarchical structure.Binder 20 can be arbitrarily formed under cabinet 16 or binder 20. Byperforming an opening operation of binder object G17, a window includingbinders 20 and data 18 within the corresponding binder 20 is displayed.

Data 18 indicated by data object G18 is an object which represents data18 formed by application 26, and is used for operating data 18 orstarting an application program for processing the data 18. Theoperation of data object G18 as well as objects within binder 20 will bedescribed later.

FIG. 6 illustrates library window G19 in a state in which library objectG04 is opened. A description will be provided of operational objectswithin library window G19 with reference to FIG. 6.

Library binder 27 indicated by library-binder object G20 is an objectfor storing the entire library data 28 of the same kind controlled aslibraries (to be described later). G21 represents the current frequencyof reference of library data 28 under library binder 27 by theapplication program. By performing an opening operation oflibrary-binder object G20, a window including data 28 within the openedlibrary binder 27 is displayed.

FIG. 7 illustrates library-binder window G22 in a state in which librarybinder object G20 is opened. A description will be provided ofoperational objects within library binder window G22 with reference toFIG. 7.

Library data 28 indicated by library data object G23 is an objectindicating data controlled as the above-described library among data 18formed by the application. Library data 28 having the same data form arestored in the same library binder 27.

FIG. 8 illustrates tag-tray window G24 in a state in which tag-trayobject G05 is opened. A description will be provided of operationalobjects within tag-tray window G24 with reference to FIG. 8.

Tag 21 indicated by tag object G25 is an object which is virtuallydisplayed in order to access an object, comprising binder 20 or data 18,within the cabinet without following the hierarchical structure of thecabinet. For tag 21, the same operation as for the object, comprisingbinder 20 or data 18, indicated by the tag 21 can be performed.

FIG. 9 illustrates open-shelf window G26 in a state in which open-shelfobject G06 is opened. A description will be provided of operationalobjects within open-shelf window G26 with reference to FIG. 9.

Open tray 29 indicated by open-tray object G27 is an object which isformed for another user or for a set of other users (hereinafter termeda user group) for which data are to be disclosed when the user performsa disclosure operation. By an opening operation of open-tray object G27,a window including open objects 30 is displayed.

FIG. 10 illustrates open-tray window G28 in a state in which open-trayobject G27 is opened. A description will be provided of operationalobjects within open-tray window G28 with reference to FIG. 10. Openobject G29 virtually displays an object, comprising cabinet 16, binder20 or data 18, of the user for whom a disclosure operation has beenperformed. Users or user groups to whom the open object G29 is to bedisclosed are determined by the attribute of open tray 29 in which theopen object G29 is present.

FIG. 61 illustrates clipping-board window G62 in a state in whichclipping-board object G28 is opened. Clipping-board window G62 includesclipped-data objects G63, serving as operational objects indicatingclipped data 32. Clipped data 32 is data comprising data 18 formed byapplication 26 or a part thereof and its format ID. Clipped data 32generated by application 26 is stored in clipping board 24 within room13 of the user, and is displayed as Clipped-data object G63 withinclipping-board window G62. The operation of clipping board 24 will bedescribed later.

FIG. 11 illustrates exit window G30 in a state in which exit object G09is opened. A description will be provided of operational objects withinexit window G30 with reference to FIG. 11. Door object G31 is an objectrepresenting an entrance to other user's room present in the office towhich the user belongs. The user's name is displayed in door object G31indicating door 31. By performing an opening operation of door objectG31, the window of room 13 of the user indicated by the door 31 isdisplayed, and objects indicating cabinets 16, binders 20 and data 18subjected to a disclosure operation of the user of the room 13 for auser or a user group including the user are displayed. By operating theopened object, the user can access data of the user for whom thedisclosure operation has been performed.

Office object G32 is an object which represents an entrance to anotheroffice. The office name is displayed on office object G32. By performingan opening operation of office object G32, door-31 objects representingentries to rooms included in that office are displayed. The operationfor door 31 is the same as in the above-described operation for door 31.Library object G33 indicates a library controlled by the office to whichthe user belongs. The operation and the contents of this library are thesame as those described with reference to FIG. 6. Clipping-board objectG34 indicates a cipping board controlled by the office to which the userbelongs. The operation and the contents of this clipping board are thesame as those described with reference to FIG. 61. Floppy disk G1017shown in FIG. 11 is an object which controls a floppy disk. As shown inFIG. 89, by an opening operation of this floppy disk G1017, objectsG1019 included in the floppy disk G1017 are displayed.

Information for the Desktop Control System

A description will now be provided of control information required foroperating the desktop control system.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the table of data information 50. Datainformation 50 is information for registering and controlling the formand the kind of data 18 formed by application program 26 controlled bydesktop 15, and includes the following items for each data form.Data-format ID 51 is a number peculiar to each data format. Extender 52comprises characters provided at the end of the file name when the fileof data 18 of that data format is formed. Icon-file name 53 is the nameof the file where the icon used when displaying data 18 within binder 20is stored. Library ID 54 (to be described later) is the ID of librarydata when data of the data format can be controlled as the library data.It is possible to register a plurality of library ID's.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating the table of application information60. Application information 60 is information on application 26controlled by desktop 15. According to this information, an object ofapplication 26 is displayed within the window of desktop 15 (to bedescribed later). The following information is included for everyregistered application 26. Application ID 61 is a peculiar numberprovided for each application program. Execution-module name 62 is thename of a program used when executing application 26. Application name63 is displayed as the name of the object of application 26. Icon-filename 64 is the name of the file in which data of the icon used whenperforming icon display of application 26 is stored. Processing list 65shows the correspondence among the format ID 51 indicating the dataformat of data 18 which the application program can process, theprocessing code, and the name for displaying the processing. Referencenumeral 66 represents the leading entry of processing list 65 for eachformat ID 51. This represents default processing of application 26, andshows processing when application 26 is started without assigning data18 to be processed. Leading entry 66 comprises format ID 51 and itsprocessing list. Column 67 indicates whether or not data 18 to beprocessed is necessary for performing processing shown in the processinglist. Mark “∘” indicates that the corresponding data is necessary, mark“x” indicates that the corresponding data is unnecessary, and a blankindicates that the corresponding data may be provided or may not beprovided.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the table of library information 70.Library information 70 is information on library data 28 controlled bythe desktop control system. According to this information, librarybinders 27 are displayed within the window of library 17 (to bedescribed later). The following information is included for eachregistered library binder 27. Library ID 71 is a peculiar numberprovided for each library binder 27. Library-binder name 72 indicatesthe location (directory) of library binder 27 within the file system ofthe hierarchical structure in which library data 28 is preserved.Reference numeral 73 represents the name of a library comprising a setof data of the same data form. Reference numeral 74 represents thecurrent frequency of data disclosure for library data 28 under librarybinder 27.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating the table of user information 80. Userinformation 80 is information for controlling users of a system in whichthe desktop control system operates. The following information isincluded for each user. User ID 81 is a peculiar number provided foreach user. Reference numeral 82 represents arbitrary information on theuser, such as the user's name or the like. Reference numeral 83represents the location (directory) of room 13 of the user. Referencenumeral 84 represents an updating mode of library data 28 within room 13of the user. The library updating mode will be described later.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating the table of office information 90.Office information 90 is information for controlling office 14 in whichanother desktop control system connected by a network or the likeoperates. The following information is included for each office 14.Office ID 91 is a peculiar number provided for each office 14. Referencenumeral 92 represents the host name of a location where office 14 ispresent. Office name 93 represents the name of office 14 present withineach host location. Domain 94 represents a domain of the host locationto which office 14 belongs. Reference numeral 95 represents an updatingmode of library data 28 within the office. The term “domain” indicates aset of computers having the same architecture. Data formed by anapplication program can be transferred between desktop control systemsoperated by computers which belong to the same domain without performingany particular conversion processing.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating the table of group information 100.Group information 100 is information for controlling a group, comprisinga plurality of users, in order to indicate the range of users forlimiting reference and updating of data 18. The following information isincluded for each group. Group ID 101 is a peculiar number provided foreach group. Reference numeral 102 represents the user ID of a user whobelongs to each group.

Information for Cabinet Control

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating the table of object controlinformation 110. Object control information 110 is a file forcontrolling information of respective objects included within binder 20,and is present for each cabinet 16 (including library 17 and refuse bin23) and each binder 20 under cabinet 16. Object control information 110is present for each office 14 in order to control library data 28 ofoffice 14. Data control information 110 includes the following items foreach data. Reference numeral 111 represents the kind of an object(binder 20, data 18, open shelves 22, open tray 29, tag tray 19, tag 21,library binder 27 and library data 28). Reference numeral 112 representsthe file name or the directory name, serving as the contents of theobject. Reference numeral 113 represents the format ID of data when theobject comprises the data or library data, or the library ID of alibrary binder when the object comprises the library binder withinlibrary 17. Reference numeral 114 represents the application ID ofapplication 26 which has formed data when the object comprises the data.Such an application ID is particularly termed a creater ID. Referencenumeral 115 represents the name of the object in Japanese. Referencenumeral 116 represents the size of data in units of a byte when theobject comprises the data. When the data comprise a plurality of files(flagments (to be described later)), size 116 represents the size of thetotal files. Date of registration 117 represents the date when theobject has been newly formed. Date of updating 118 represents the dateof the final updating operation of the object. Reference numeral 119represents the date of the last reference of the object.

Reference numeral 120 represents the user ID of the owner of the object.Reference numeral 121 represents the group ID of the owner of theobject. Reference numeral 122 represents the user ID of the last userwho has referred to the object. Reference numeral 123 represents theuser ID of the last user who has updated the object. Access level 124 isset with classifying the party for which reference and updating for theobject can be permitted or cannot be permitted into three kinds, i.e.,the owner of the data having user ID 120, the user of group 121 to whichthe owner of the data belongs, and other user.

Reference numeral 125 represents the domain of office 14 in which datahas been formed/updated when the object comprises the data. Referencenumeral 126 represents the user ID of a user for whom open tray 29 is tobe opened when the object comprises the open tray 29 to be opened toother users. Reference numeral 127 represents the group ID of a groupfor whom open tray 29 is to be opened when the object comprises the opentray 29 to be opened to other groups. Reference numeral 128 representslimitation of open copying operation of the object for a user for whomopen object 30 is to be opened when the object comprises open object 30.Reference numeral 129 represents the deadline of disclosure within whichthe disclosure operation of open object 30 is effective when the objectcomprises open object 30. Reference numeral 130 represents the deadlineof data disposal at which data must be automatically disposed in refusebin 23 when the object comprises the data present within refuse bin 23.Reference numeral 131 represents the location where the operationalobject indicated by tag 21 is present when the object comprises tag 21.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating the table of open-object controlinformation 140. Open-object control information 140 is information forcontrolling the state of the currently opened binders 20 and data 18within room 13 of each user, and is present for each room 13.

Open-object control information 140 includes the following items foreach object. Reference numeral 141 is the file name of the object.Reference numeral 142 is the user ID of the user who has opened theobject. Reference numeral 143 represents a flag which indicates whetherthe object is opened in the state of “reference” or “updating” of accesslevel 124. Reference numeral 144 represents the date when the object hasbeen opened.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating library retrieval order information150. Library retrieval order information 150 is information relating tothe order of library 17 when retrieving library data 28 and is presentin each room 13.

Control of Floppy Disks

FIG. 90 illustrates floppy-disk control information. The floppy-diskcontrol information is included within the floppy-disk registrationfile, and comprises the following information 1101-1103 for each floppydisk. Reference numeral 1101 represents the name of a floppy disk. Forexample, name 1104 indicates floppy-disk information relating to theMS-DOS of the Microsoft Company, and name 1105 indicates floppy-diskinformation of a word processor.

Method of detection 1102 indicates, for example, the name of a processor a function for determining the corresponding floppy disk. Dataconverter 1103 indicates, for example, the name of a process or afunction for converting the data form of the corresponding floppy diskinto the data form under cabinet 16, or vice versa. To which directionconversion must be performed is provided by a parameter.

FIG. 91 illustrates data control information of a floppy disk, andcomprises the following information 1106-1112 for binder 20 of eachfloppy disk. File type 1106 indicates the kind of data, and file name1107 indicates the contents of the data. As in data control information110 shown in FIG. 20, reference numeral 1108 represents the name of thedata in Japanese, and reference numeral 1109 represents the size of thedata in units of a byte.

Date of registration 1110 is the date when the data has been newlyformed, and date of updating 1111 is the date of the last updatingoperation of the data. In access level 1112, whether or not reference todata and an updating operation of data are permitted is indicated forthe-user ID 81 and the group ID of the owner of the data, and otherusers.

Opening Operation of a Binder

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the operation of opening binder 20 withincabinet 16. In FIG. 23, G37 represents a cursor indicating the positionof pointing device 5 on the picture frame, and G38 represents a markindicating the button operation of pointing device 5 for explaining theoperation. Mark “★” represents a 1-click operation of the button, mark“★★” represents a two-click operation of the button, mark “⋆” representsdepression of the button, and mark “⋆⋆” represents release of thebutton. These marks are used throughout the description of theoperation. In an opening operation of binder 20, cursor G37 is moved tothe icon of binder object G17 within cabinet window G16, and the buttonis subjected to a two-click operation, whereby binder window G39displaying the contents of binder 20 appears. This opening operation iscommon for all operational objects.

The processing for opening binder 20 will be described with reference tothe flowchart of FIG. 24. In step S1, object control information 110 ofbinder 20 indicated by binder object G17 subjected to a two-clickoperation is obtained. In step S2, the corresponding icon file is readusing file format ID 113 within the obtained object control information110 and data information 50. In step S3, icon display is performed onthe generated binder window G39. In step S4, the above-describedprocessing is performed for all entries of object control information110, and the process is terminated. This processing is common forcabinet 16, open shelves 22, tag tray 19 and library binder 27.Processing of opening desktop 15, exit 25 and library 17 will bedescribed later.

Copying Operation of Data

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating the operation of copying data 18between cabinets 16 or binders 20. In a copying operation of data 18,cursor G37 is first moved to the icon of data object G18 of the desiredcopy source, and is then moved to cabinet window G16 or binder windowG39 of the desired copy receiver while depressing the button. Thecopying operation is completed by releasing the button (adragging/dropping operation).

The method of copying data 18 in the cabinet will be described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 26. In step S10, object controlinformation 110 of data 18 is obtained from binder 20 where data 18 ofthe copy source is present, when the icon of the copy source isdepressed. If, in step S11, the obtained object control information 110indicates that data 18 of the copy source is open object 30 andlimitation of open copy 128 is set, a display indicating that a copyingoperation is prohibited is performed in step S12, and the process isinterrupted. After the button has been released at the copy receiver instep S13, in step S14, it is checked whether or not the file can becopied, taking into consideration the capacity of the disk and the like.If the result of the check is negative, error display is performed instep S15, and the process is interrupted. In step S16, the entry of thepreviously obtained object control information 110 is added to objectcontrol information 110 of binder 20 of the copy receiver. In step S17,the file corresponding to the contents of data 18 is copied, and theprocess is terminated.

Opening Operation of a Floppy Disk

FIG. 92 illustrates an operational picture frame for opening floppy diskG1017 within cabinet 16. This is substantially the same as theabove-described operational picture frame for opening binder 20 withincabinet 16 (shown in FIG. 23). FIG. 93 illustrates the process ofopening floppy disk G1017. In step S1021, the registration file offloppy disk G1017 subjected to a 2-click operation of the button is readto obtain floppy-disk control information as shown in FIG. 90. In stepS1022, one detection method 1102 of floppy-disk control information isobtained.

If the adaptation of this detection method 1102 to the data form of thefloppy disk within FDD 10 has succeeded in step S1023, the processproceeds to step S1026. If the adaptation has not succeeded, the processproceeds to step S1024. In steps S1022 through S1024, each detectionmethod 1102 is checked for all entries of the floppy-disk controlinformation. If the adaptation has not succeeded for all detectionmethods 1102, a display indicating that a floppy disk which can behandled is absent is performed (step S1025), and the opening processingis terminated.

In step S1026, data control information of the root directory of floppydisk G1017 (see FIG. 91) is obtained. In the next step S1027, this datacontrol information is converted into data control information 110 ofcabinet 16 as shown in FIG. 20. In step S1028, the corresponding iconfile is read using the format ID 51 of the obtained data controlinformation 110 and data information 50. In step S1029, a window isformed and icon display is performed. This processing is performed forall entries of data control information 110 in the loop of stepsS1028-S1030, and the process is terminated. The processing of openingbinder 20 of floppy disk G1017 is the same as the processing in stepsS1026-S1030.

Copying Operation of a Floppy Disk

FIG. 94 illustrates the operational picture frame when data of floppydisk G1017 is copied to binder 20. This is substantially the same as theabove-described picture frame (shown in FIG. 25). FIG. 95 illustratesthe copying operation. When the button has been released in the copyreceiver to determine the copy receiver in step S1031, in step S1032, itis determined whether or not a copying operation can be performed bychecking the capacity of the disk and the like. If the result of thecheck is negative, a display indicating that a copying operation isimpossible is performed in step S1033, and the copying processing isterminated.

If the result of the check in step S1032 is affirmative, in step S1034,the data conversion method (converter 1103) is obtained from floppy-diskcontrol information. In the next step S1035, the file name of the copysource is obtained from the floppy-disk control information, and thedata is subjected to data conversion. In step S1036, the entry of thepreviously obtained data control information 110 is added to datacontrol information 110 of binder 20 of the copy receiver. In stepS1037, the converted data is copied, and the process is terminated. Whencopying data under cabinet 16 to a floppy disk, substantially the sameprocessing is performed.

Starting Operation of an Application

An application is started by operating an object indicated byapplication 26 or data 18 controlled by the desktop control system bythe user. The operation of starting an application is executed by addingexecution-module name 62 of the application followed by file name 112and format ID 51 of data 18 to be processed, and a character stringindicating the method of processing in processing list 65 (for example,/usr/local/bin/ezps/ezps-f 012-me).

In FIG. 3, when desktop object G02 within room window G01 has beensubjected to a 2-click operation, desktop window G14 is opened as shownin FIG. 4, and application objects G15 indicating already registeredapplications 26 are displayed. The processing of opening desktop 15 isterminated by reading the corresponding icon file by obtainingapplication information 60, and performing icon display on the window.

When data 18 has been opened by the application, the entry of the openeddata 18 is added to open object control information 140 of the roomwhere data 18 is present. When data 18 has been closed by theapplication, the above-described entry of the opened data 18 of openobject control information 14 is deleted.

Next, a description will be provided of the processing of starting anapplication in the desktop control system with respect to each of theuser's operations with reference to the drawings.

(1) Start by an Opening Operation of an Application Object

In FIG. 27, application object G15 within desktop window G14 issubjected to a 2-click operation.

Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 28, in step S20, applicationinformation 60 of application 26 indicated by the application objectsubjected to 2-click operation in step S20 is obtained. In step S21, theapplication program is started by providing the format ID of the leadingentry of processing list 65 and the processing code of defaultprocessing 66 for the application.

(2) Start by an Opening Processing of an Application Object

In FIG. 29, when application object G15 within desktop window G14 hasbeen selected by a 1-click operation of the button of the mouse, theappearance of the selected application object G15 changes such that, forexample, the frame of the icon is thickened, so that the selection ofapplication object G15 can be acknowledged. When “operation” button G40has been selected from menu list G41 in this state by a 1-clickoperation of the button, “operation” menu G42 is displayed. Theprocessing to be executed in application 26 indicated by the selectedapplication object G15 is selected from the displayed “operation” menuG42.

Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 30, when “operation” button G40 hasnot been selected in step S30, other processing is performed in stepS31. When “operation” button G40 has been selected in step S30, afterselecting application object G15 in step S32, application information 60of the selected application 26 is obtained in step S33. In step S34, theformat ID at the leading entry of processing list 65 of the obtainedapplication information 60 is selected as default, and the processingname of processing list 65 having the above-described format ID isdisplayed on “operation” menu G42. On “operation” menu G42, functionswhich require already formed data, such as a printing function and thelike, are checked by the necessity of data to be processed 67 inapplication information 60 and are not displayed. When one item of“operation” menu G42 has been selected in step S35, in step S36, theapplication program indicated by the already selected application objectG15 is started by providing the format ID which has already beenselected as default and the processing code corresponding to theselected item.

(3) Start of an Application Object by a Dragging/dropping Operation

In FIG. 31, application object G15 within desktop window G14 is dragged,and is dropped within cabinet (binder) window G16. As in case (1),application information 60 of application 26 indicated by thedragged/dropped application object G15 is obtained, and the applicationprogram is started by providing the format ID at the leading entry ofprocessing list 65 of application information 60 and the processing codeof default processing 66.

(4) Start by an Opening Operation of a Data Object

In FIG. 32, data object G18 within cabinet (binder) window G16 issubjected to a 2-click operation. Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 33,in step S40, creator ID 114 and format ID 113 of the data are obtainedfrom object control information 110 of data 18 indicated by the dataobject G18 subjected to the 2-click operation.

In step S41, the entry of application information 60 having the sameapplication ID 61 as the obtained creator ID 114 is obtained. In stepS42, the application program is started by providing the processing codeof default processing 66 of the obtained format ID at the entry ofapplication information 60, and file name 112 of the data.

(5) Start by an Opening Operation of a Data Object

In FIG. 34, when data object G18 within cabinet (binder) window G16 hasbeen selected by a 1-click operation of the button, the appearance ofdata object G18 changes such that, for example, the icon is subjected toreversal display so that the selection of data object G18 can beacknowledged. When “operation” button G40 has been selected from menulist G41 by a 1-click operation of the button in this state, “operation”menu G42 is displayed. The processing to be executed is selected fordata 18 indicated by data object G18 selected from the displayed“operation” menu G42.

Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 35, when “operation” button G40 onthe window has not been selected in step S50, other processing isperformed in step S50. When “operation” button G40 has been selected instep S51, in step S52, data object G18 is selected, format ID 113 andcreator ID 114 of the data 18 indicated by the selected data object G18are obtained, and the entry having the same application ID 61 as creatorID 114 is obtained from application information 60. In step S54, theprocessing name of processing list 65 corresponding to the obtainedformat ID 113 is obtained from the obtained entry of applicationinformation 60, and is displayed as “operation” menu G42. When one itemof “operation” menu G42 has been selected in step S55, in step S56, theapplication program is started with the obtained execution-module name62 of application information 60 by providing the file name 112 of data18, the already obtained format ID 113, and the processing codecorresponding to the item selected from “operation” menu G42.

(6) Start by Dragging/dropping a Data Object on an Application Object

In FIG. 36, one data object G18 within cabinet (binder) window G16 isdragged, and is dropped on application object G15 within desktop windowG14.

Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 37, when data object G18 has beendragged, in step S60, the file name 112 and the format ID 113 of thedata 18 indicated by the selected data object G18 are obtained fromobject control information 110. When the dragged data object G18 hasbeen placed on application object G15 on desktop window G14 in step S61,the application information 60 of the placed application 26 is obtainedin step S62. If the format ID of the data 18 indicated by data objectG18 dragged on application 26 can be processed in the determination ofstep S63, in step S64, the method of display of the icon of theabove-described application object G15 is changed such that, forexample, the icon is subjected to reversal display in order to notifythe user that data 18 indicated by data object G18 dragged onapplication 26 can be processed. When the dragged data object G18 hasbeen dropped in step S65, in step S66, it is checked whether or not theabove-described data 18 has been dropped on application object G15 ofapplication 26 in which data 18 can be processed. In step S67, theprocessing code of default processing 66 of the format ID correspondingto application ID 61 is obtained from the obtained applicationinformation 60, and the application program is started by providingapplication 26 indicated by execution-module name 62 with the format ID113, the processing code and the file name 112 of the data 18.

As described with reference to FIG. 15, in this desktop control system,when data 18 of one data form can be processed by a plurality ofapplications 26, and when one application 26 can process data 18 of aplurality of data forms, the relationship between data 18 andapplications which can process the data 18 is controlled. Accordingly,it is useful to notify the user performing the operation to whichapplication object G15 the selected or dragged data object G18 can bedropped, that is, which application 26 can process the data 18. Thefollowing guidance function is provided as a means for realizing theabove-described notification.

(6.1) Guidance by Connection with Lines

In FIG. 39, when one data object G18 within cabinet window G16 or binderwindow G39 has been grabbed (by adjusting the pointing cursor to theobject), the grabbed data object G18 is presented by being connected toapplication objects G15 within desktop window G14 which can process thecorresponding data with lines.

This processing will be described with reference to the flowchart ofFIG. 40. When one data object G18 has been grabbed, in step S70, thefile name 112 and the format ID 113 of the data 18 corresponding to thegrabbed data object G18 are obtained from data control information 110.In step S71, applications 26 within desktop 15 are retrieved. If it isdetermined in step S72 that no application 26 other than the alreadychecked application is present, presentation of applications which canprocess the data is terminated. If any application is present in thedetermination of step S72, application information 60 on thatapplication 26 is obtained in step S73. In step S74, it is determinedwhether or not the format ID of the data 18 indicated by the grabbeddata object G18 is present. If the result of the determination isaffirmative, the grabbed data object can be processed by the applicationfound in step S71.

If application object G43 on desktop window G14 can process data objectG18, in step S75, data object G18 is connected to application object G43with line G44, as shown in FIG. 39, to notify the user that application26 indicated by application object G43 can process the data 18 indicatedby the grabbed data object G18. When the presenting processing of stepS75 has been completed for one application 26 retrieved in step S71, theprocess returns to step S71. If any unchecked application 26 is presentin step S72, the processing of steps S73-S75 is repeated forapplications 26 within desktop 15. When the processing has beenterminated according to the determination of step S72, for example, asshown in FIG. 39, the data object G18 grabbed within cabinet window G16is connected to application objects G43 and G45 of.applications 26 whichcan process the data corresponding to the grabbed data object G18 withlines G44 and G46.

(6.2) Guidance by Connection with Highlight Display

In FIG. 41, when one data object G18 within cabinet window G16 or binderwindow G39 has been grabbed, application objects G15 within desktopwindow G14 which can process the grabbed data object G18 are presentedby changing the state of display, such as performing highlight displayor the like. This processing will be described with reference to FIG. 41and the flowchart of FIG. 42.

When one data object G18 has been grabbed, the file name 112 and theformat ID 113 of the data 18 corresponding to the grabbed data objectG18 are obtained in step S80. In step S81, applications 26 withindesktop 15 are retrieved. If it is determined that no application 26 ispresent other than the already retrieved application in step S82, thepresentation of applications which can process the data corresponding tothe grabbed data object G18 has been terminated. If any application ispresent in the determination in step S82, application information 60 onthat application 26 is obtained in step S83. In step S84, it isdetermined whether or not the format ID of the data 18 indicated by thegrabbed data object G18 is present within that application information60. If the result of the determination is affirmative, the grabbedobject can be processed by the application found in step S81. If, forexample, application object G47 within desktop window G14 can processthe grabbed data object G18, in step S85, as shown in FIG. 41, thedisplay of the corresponding application object G47 is subjected tohighlight display to notify the user that the application 26 indicatedby that application object G47 can process the data 18 indicated by thedragged data object G18. When the presentation processing of step S85for one application 26 retrieved in step S81 has been completed, theprocess returns to step S81. If any unchecked application 26 is presentin the determination of step S82, the processing of steps S83-S85 isrepeated for applications 26 within desktop 15. When the process hasbeen terminated according to the determination of step S82, for example,as shown in FIG. 41, application objects G47 and G48 of applications 26which can process the data corresponding to the data object G18 grabbedwithin cabinet window G16 are subjected to highlight display.

(6.3) Guidance by Attraction

In FIG. 43, when one data object G18 within cabinet window G16 or binderwindow G39 has been moved while being dragged, the position of displayof the dragged data object G18 is automatically corrected and presentedby the desktop control system when the dragged data object G18 reaches aposition at a predetermined distance from application object G15 whichcan process the dragged data object G18 within desktop window G14. Thisprocessing will be described with reference to FIG. 43 and the flowchartof FIG. 44.

When one data object G18 has been grabbed, in step S90, the file name112 and the format ID 113 of the data 18 corresponding to the grabbeddata object G18 are obtained from data control information 110. In stepS91, it is determined whether or not the overlapped area of the icon ofthe dragged data object G49 and the icon of application object G50reaches a predetermined ratio of the display area of the dragged dataobject G49. If the result of the determination is negative, the processreturns to step S91.

If the result of the determination in step S91 is affirmative,application information 60 of the application 26 indicated by theapplication object G50 is obtained in step S93.

In step S94, it is checked whether or not the format ID of the data 18indicated by the dragged data object G49 is present within applicationinformation 60 of the application 26 indicated by the application objectG50. If the result of the check is affirmative, the data can beprocessed by the overlapped application. Then in step S95, the displayposition of the dragged data object G49 is corrected so that the dataobject G49 completely overlaps the application object G50 as indicatedby G51. At the same time, in step S96, the application object G50 issubjected to highlight display. According to this processing, the userfeels as if the dragged data object G49 were attracted to theapplication object G50 by attraction, and can determine that theapplication 26 indicated by that application object G50 can process thedata 18 indicated by the dragged data object G49.

Subsequently, in step S97, it is determined whether or not the draggeddata object G49 has been dropped on the application object G50. If theresult of the determination is negative, the process returns to stepS91. If the result of the determination is affirmative, in step S98, theprocessing code of default processing 66 of the format ID correspondingto application ID 61 from the application information 60 obtained instep S92, and the application 26 is started by providing the application26 indicated by the application object with the format ID, theprocessing code, and the file name 112 of the data 18 indicated by thedata object G18.

(6.4) Guidance by Reaction

In FIG. 45, when one data object G18 within cabinet window G16 or binderwindow G39 has been moved while being dragged, the position of displayof the dragged data object G18 is automatically corrected and presentedby the desktop control system when the dragged data object G18 reaches aposition at a predetermined distance from application object G15 whichcannot process the dragged data object G18 within desktop window G14.This processing will be described with reference to FIG. 45 and theflowchart of FIG. 88.

When one data object G18 has been grabbed, in step S90, the file name112 and the format ID 51 of the data 18 corresponding to the grabbeddata object G18 are obtained from data control information 110. In stepS91, it is determined whether or not the overlapped area of the icon ofthe dragged data object G52 and the icon of application object G53reaches a predetermined ratio of the display area of the dragged dataobject G52.

If the result of the determination is negative, the process returns tostep S91. If the result of the determination in step S91 is affirmative,application information 60 of the application 26 indicated by theapplication object G53 is obtained in step S92.

When it has been determined in step S94 that the format ID of the data18 indicated by the dragged data object G52 is present in applicationinformation 60 of the application 26 indicated by the application objectG53, and the data 18 can be processed, the process proceeds to the startof the application 26 in the same manner as in case (6.3). To thecontrary, when it has been determined in step S94 that the application26 indicated by the application object G53 cannot process the data 18indicated by the dragged data object G52, in step S93, the displayposition of the dragged data object G52 is corrected so that theoverlapped portion of the data object G52 and the application object G53is reduced or erased. According to this processing, the user feels as ifthe dragged data object G52 were drawn from the application object G52by reaction, and can determine that the application 26 indicated by thatapplication object G53 cannot process the data 18 indicated by thedragged data object G52.

(7) Start by Dragging/dropping a Plurality of Data Objects on anApplication Object

In FIG. 38, a plurality of data objects G18 within cabinet (binder)window G16 are dragged, and are dropped on application object G15 withindesktop window G14. The format ID's 51 of the respective dragged dataobjects G18 are obtained in the same manner as in case (6). When thedragged data objects G18 have been placed on application object G15within desktop window G14, application information 60 is retrieved. Ifthe format ID's of all the dragged data objects G18 are present in theapplication 26 indicated by the application object G15, the data can beprocessed. Then the user is notified that the application 26 can processthe data 18 indicated by all the dragged data objects by changing themethod of display, such as performing highlight display of the icon ofthe application object G15, or the like.

When the plurality of dragged data objects G18 have been dropped on theapplication object G15 subjected to highlight display, applicationinformation 60 is retrieved from the application ID 61 of theapplication indicated by the application object G15, and the format ID's51 of the data 18 indicated by the data objects, the execution-modulename 62 corresponding to the application ID 61 and the processing codeof default processing 66 of the format ID's 51 are obtained, and theapplication 26 is started by providing the format ID's 51, theprocessing code and the file names 112 of the plurality of data 18.

Although not illustrated, contrary to the present embodiment, bydragging an application object, it is possible to connect a data objectwhich can be processed by that application object with a line, toperform highlight display of the data object, or to perform displayusing reaction or attraction.

Although in the present embodiment, an application object is connectedto a data object which can be processed by that application object witha line, the data object is subjected to highlight display, or displayusing reaction or attraction is performed, the same effect may, ofcourse, be obtained by displaying data which can be processeddifferently from data which cannot be processed.

Disclosure Operation

Usually, other users are not permitted to refer to or update cabinet 16,binders 20 or data 18 within room 13 of a user. The operation that auser permits other users to refer to or update his own cabinet 16,binders 20 or data 18 is termed a “disclosure operation”. Cabinet 16,binder 20 or data 18 to be subjected to a “disclosure operation” istermed open object 30. A description will now be provided of theprocessing for performing a “disclosure operation” First, open tray 29is formed on open shelves 22 (FIG. 2) for each user or group whichdiscloses data, as shown in FIG. 46. In FIG. 46, new-formation buttonG55 on open-shelf window G26 is selected, and the user name or the userID 81, or the group name or the group ID 101 for which data are to bedisclosed is input on inquiry input window G56. Then open-tray objectG27 indicating new open tray 29 is formed and displayed on open-shelfwindow G26.

Subsequently, open-tray object G27 of the user or group which disclosesdata is opened, and open-tray window G28 is displayed. As in a copyingoperation of data 18 between binders 20, data object G18 or binderobject G17 to be opened is dragged and dropped on open-tray window G28.According to this operation, the dropped open object G29 is displayed onopen-tray window G28 to indicate that a disclosure operation has beenperformed it is also possible to set limitation of a copying operationby other users for the opened object, or to set a deadline time limit ofthe disclosure operation.

As shown in FIG. 47, such setting is completed by depressing operationbutton G57 on open-tray window G28 followed by performing a 1-clickoperation of open object G29 for which the setting must be performed todisplay inquiry input window G58, and inputting set items on thedisplayed inquiry input window G58. When the setting of the limitationof open copies and deadline of disclosure have been previously done, theset contents are displayed in the columns of set items when input windowG58 is displayed. The processing of forming open tray 29 in the desktopcontrol system will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.48, and FIG. 46.

When new-formation button G55 on open-shelf window G26 has beenselected, input window G56 for inputting a party which discloses data isformed in step S100. In step S101, an input from a user is awaited. Whenthe user name has been input in step S102, user information 80 isretrieved and user ID 81 is obtained in step S103. When user ID 81 hasbeen input in step S104, user information 80 is retrieved and whetherthe input user ID 81 is present is checked in step S105. When the groupname has been input in step S106, group information 100 is retrieved andgroup ID 101 is obtained in step S107. When group ID 101 has been inputin step S108, group information 100 is retrieved and whether the inputgroup ID 101 is present is checked in step S109.

When user ID 81 or group ID 101 is present in step S110, in step S111,the entry of new open tray 29 is formed in object control information110 of open shelves 22, and the previously obtained user ID 81 or groupID 101 is substituted for user ID 126 of a user for which data are to bedisclosed or group ID 127 of a group for which data are to be disclosed.In step S112, the open-tray object G27 indicating the open tray 29formed in step S112 is displayed within open-shelf window G26, and theprocess is terminated. If user ID 81 or group ID 101 cannot be obtained,the process is interrupted.

Next, a description will be provided of a “disclosure operation” in thedesktop control system with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 49, andFIG. 47.

When the object to be disclosed has been dragged, object controlinformation 110 of the dragged object is obtained in step S120. When thedragged object has been dropped on open-tray window G28 in step S121, instep S122, the entry of new open object 30 is formed and the previouslyobtained object control information 110 is substituted for objectcontrol information 110 of the open tray 29 indicated by the open-traywindow G28. In step S123, the dragged object is displayed on open-traywindow G28 as open object G29, and the process is terminated.

Next, a description will be provided of the processing of settinglimitation of open copy and the deadline of disclosure for open object30 in the desktop control system with reference to FIG. 47 and theflowchart of FIG. 50.

First, when operation button G57 on open-tray window G28 has beenselected in step S130, the selection and input of open object G29 isawaited in step S132. In step S133, object control information 110 ofthe selected open object G29 is obtained.

Next, in step S134, the inquired input window G28 is formed, and thecontents of limitation of open copy 128 and the deadline of disclosure129 are displayed on the input column using the previously obtainedobject control information 110. In step S135, an input is awaited. Aftersetting and inputting the limitation of open copy and the deadline ofdisclosure, in step S136, the contents of the input limitation of opencopy 128 and deadline of disclosure 129 are substituted for thepreviously obtained object control information 110, and the objectcontrol information 110 in which the setting has been completed issubstituted for object control information 110 within open tray 29, andthe process is terminated.

Access to Data of other Users

The processing when a user accesses data of other user will be describedwith reference to FIG. 2.

First, when exit 25 within the user's own room 13 has been opened, doors13 representing other users' rooms 13 within his own office 14, otheroffices 14, and library 17 controlled by his own office 14 aredisplayed. When one of the other offices 14 has been opened, doors 13 ofusers and library 17 of the opened office 14 are displayed again. Whenthe door 31 of the desired user has been opened, the user of the openedroom 13 performs a disclosure operation for himself, and an open object30 is displayed. The same operation as for an operational object withinthe first user's own room 13 can be performed for this open object 30.However, if limitation of open copy is set for the open object 30, theoperation of copying the contents of the open object 30 is prohibited.If the deadline of disclosure is set for the open object 30, open object30 for which the deadline of disclosure has elapsed is not displayed onthe window.

The processing of opening exit 25 in the desktop control system will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 3, 11, 12 and 13, and the flowchart ofFIG. 51.

When exit object G09 (FIG. 3) has been opened, exit window G30 (FIG. 11)is displayed. In step S140, the names of other users and offices 14 areobtained from user information 80 and office information 90,respectively. In step S141, door object G31 indicating door 31, officeobject G32 indicating office 14, and library object G33 indicatinglibrary 17 are displayed on exit window G30. In step S142, an input isawaited.

When it has been determined that an opening operation has been performedfor library object G33 in step S143, the processing of opening library17 (to be described later) is performed in step S144, and the process isterminated. When it has been determined that an opening operation hasbeen performed for office object G32 in step S145, in step S146, hostname 92 is obtained from office information 90, and user information 80is obtained by requesting user information 80 to the opened hostlocation, and the process returns to step S141, where door objects 30 ofdoors 31 indicating entry to the rooms of users included within thatoffice are displayed on office window G35 shown in FIG. 12, and an inputis awaited.

When it has been determined that an opening operation has been performedfor door object G31 in step S147, object control information 110 of useropen shelves 22 of the opened door 31 is obtained in step S148. In stepS149, open trays 29 for the operating user are retrieved. If open tray29 for the operating user is present, object control information 110 ofthat open tray 29 is obtained in step S150. In step S151, only openobjects 30 for which the deadline of disclosure has not yet elapsed aredisplayed on room window G44 shown in FIG. 13. If open tray 29 is absentin step S149, the fact is displayed in step S125, and the process isterminated.

Tag

Tag 21 is an object with which, when operating binder 20 or data 18belonging to a deep hierarchy, the target binder 20 or data 18 can beoperated without performing a plurality of opening operations of binders20 belonging to intermediate hierarchies.

A description will now be provided of the method of generating andprocessing tag 21.

When tag object G05 (FIG. 3) indicating tag tray 19 shown in FIG. 2 hasbeen opened, tag-tray window G24 on which tag objects G25 are displayedis displayed, as shown in FIG. 8. The displayed tag objects G25correspond to binder 20 and data 18 present under the “cabinet”. The tag21 indicated by the displayed tag object G25 is operated in the samemanner as for the corresponding binder 20 or data 18. In a deletingoperation, however, tag 21 itself is deleted, but the correspondingbinder 20 or data 18 is not deleted. The method of newly forming tag 21is completed by dragging binder object G17 of binder 20 or data objectG18 of data 18 corresponding to the tag 21 to be formed and dropping thedragged object on tag-tray window G24, in the same manner as in theoperation of copying data 18 between binders 20. According to thisoperation, tag object G25 which displays the icon data of the binderobject G17 or data object G18 dragged on tag-tray window G24 isdisplayed to indicate that tag 21 has been newly formed. The processingof newly forming tag 21 will be described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 52.

When binder object G17 or data object G18 has been dragged, in stepS160, object control information 110 of binder 20 where binder 20indicated by binder object G17 or data 18 indicated by data object G18is present is obtained. When the button has been released on tag-traywindow G24 in step S161, in step S162, the entry of the previouslyobtained object control information 110 is added to object controlinformation 110 of the tag tray 19 indicated by the tag-tray window G24.In step S163, the name of binder 20 or binder 20 where data 18 ispresent is substituted for the name of tag reference binder 131 withinobject control information 110. In step S164, the formed tag object G25is displayed on tag-tray window G24, and the process is terminated.

Next, a description will be provided of the processing of opening tagobject G25 with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 53.

When an opening operation has been performed for tag object G25, objectcontrol.information 110 of the tag 21 indicated by the operated tagobject G25 present within tag tray 19 is obtained in step S170. In stepS171, the name of the binder 131 where the corresponding binder 20 ordata 18 is present, and object control information 86 of the binder 20or data 18 are obtained.

When the above-described object control information has been obtained instep S172, the same processing as the processing for binder 20 or data18 is performed in step S173. If the object control information could beobtained in step S172, the fact that data or a binder indicated by thetag is absent is displayed, and the process is terminated.

Disposal of Data

In the processing of disposing of the formed binder 20 and data, as inthe operation of copying data 18 between binders 20, by dropping binderobject G17 of binder 20 and data object G18 of data 18 to be disposedwithin refuse-bin window G59 (FIG. 54) displayed by the operation ofopening refuse-bin object G07 displayed on room window G01 shown in FIG.3, binder object G17 and data object G18 move to the refuse-bin window.In the desktop control system, the process of monitoring data disposalis always operated, and the moved binder object G17 and binder 20indicated thereby, and data object G18 and data 18 indicated thereby areerased after being preserved for a predetermined period.

Disposal of Data: 1

Next, a description will be provided of a case in which data is disposedwith reference to FIGS. 55, 56 and 98. In the processing of disposing ofthe formed binder 20 or data 18, as in the operation of copying databetween binders 20, by dropping the icon of binder 20 or data 18 to bedisposed within the window of-refuse bin 23, the icon of binder 20 ordata 18 to be disposed is moved to the window of refuse bin 23. As shownin FIG. 56, in desktop 15, the process of monitoring data disposal isalways operated, and the moved binder 20 or data 18 is erased afterbeing preserved for a predetermined time period.

Such data disposal processing will be described with reference to FIG.55. In step S180, data control information 110 of binder 20 in whichdata 18 is present is obtained when the icon of the data 18 has beengrabbed. When the button has been released on the window of refuse bin23 in step S181, the process proceeds to steps after step S182.

When the button has been released at a portion other than the window ofrefuse bin 23, the process is terminated. If prohibition of updating isset for the above-described data control information 110 in step S182,incapability of data disposal is displayed in step S183, and the processis terminated. If prohibition of updating is not set for the datacontrol information 110 in step S182, open data control information isretrieved in step S184. Also when the data 18 is disclosed to any otherparty, incapability of data disposal is displayed, and the process isterminated. In other cases, the data 18 is copied to refuse bin 23 instep S185. When the copying processing has been normally completed, theprocess proceeds to steps after step S187. When the copying processinghas not been normally completed, incapability of data disposal isdisplayed in step S183, and the process is terminated.

In step S187, the entry of the data 18 in data control information. 68of binder 20 in which the data 18 is present is deleted, and the file ofthe data 18 is erased. Next, in step S188, an input window is formed,and the default value of the time until data disposal is displayed onthe input window. In step S189, the input of the set value of the timeuntil data disposal is awaited. When the set value of the time untildata disposal has been input, in the last step S190, the time obtainedby adding the set value of the time until data disposal to the currenttime is substituted for the deadline of data disposal at the entry ofthe data 18 added to data control information 110 of refuse bin 23, andthe process is terminated.

FIG. 98 illustrates the processing of changing the deadline of datadisposal. In step S2120, data control information 110 of data 18selected from refuse bin 23 is obtained. In step S2121, an input windowis formed, and the scheduled deadline of data disposal and the defaultvalue of the time until data disposal obtained from data controlinformation are displayed. If the set value of the time until datadisposal has been input in step S2122, in step S2123, the time obtainedby adding the set value of the time until data disposal to the currenttime is substituted for deadline of data disposal 130 at the entry ofdata control information 110 of refuse bin 23, and the process isterminated.

FIG. 56 illustrates the processing of monitoring data disposal. In stepS191, data control information 110 of refuse bin 23 is obtained. In stepS192, deadline of data disposal 130 for one data is taken out. In stepsS193 and 194, the entry of the data is deleted and the file of the datais erased only when deadline of data disposal 130 has elapsed. In theloop of steps S192-S194, the deadline of data disposal for each data ofrefuse bin 23 is checked. When such processing has been completed forall entries of data control information 110 in step S195, in steps S196and S197, the lapse of a predetermined time is awaited, and the processreturns to step S191 after the lapse of the predetermined time, and thesame processing is repeated.

According to the above-described embodiment, after setting and changingthe time until disposal of data which can be disposed by the processingshown in FIGS. 55 and 98, the entry of each data for which the deadlineof data disposal based on the set and changed time has elapsed isdeleted and the file of the data is erased by the monitoring processshown in FIG. 56. Hence. data which can be disposed is physicallydisposed when the deadline of disposal of each data arrives. As aresult, it is possible to prevent wasteful occupation of data regionsand the presence of data of low priority over a necessary time period,and thereby to efficiently utilize data preservation regions.

In the above-described embodiment, data is disposed by a monitoringprocess of data disposal in which disposal regions are periodicallychecked. However, in a system in which the process can be operated at anassigned time, such a function of the system may be used. Furthermore,the time of data disposal may be assigned as, for example, “datadisposal at a certain hour and at a certain minute” in place of “datadisposal after a certain hour and certain minute”. In another approach,either one of the above-described assignments may be selected.

Data Disposal: 2

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 99 through 102. FIG. 99 is a diagramillustrating data control information 110 a in the second embodiment.FIG. 100 is a flowchart illustrating data disposal processing. FIG. 101is a flowchart illustrating the processing of changing the conditionsand the time of data disposal. FIG. 102 is a flowchart illustrating adata disposal monitoring process.

As shown in FIG. 99, data control information 110 a of the presentembodiment includes disposal control information 1300 in place ofdeadline of data disposal 130 (FIG. 20) in “disposal of data: 1”.Disposal control information 1300 includes conditions (reference date)of disposal control 1301, expiration time of data disposal 1302, andtime of continuation of conditions 1303. As described later, whenconditions 1301 are continuously satisfied for expiration time of datadisposal 1302, the data is disposed, and time of continuation ofconditions 1303 is updated by the monitoring process when the conditionshave been continuously satisfied until the present time.

The processing of FIG. 100 corresponds to the processing of FIG. 55 inthe first embodiment. The processing of steps S180-S187 is the same asin the first embodiment. In steps S180-S187, data 18 to be disposed iscopied to refuse bin 23, the entry of the data 18 in data controlinformation 110 of binder 20 in which the data 18 is present is deleted,and the file of the data 18 is erased.

In the present embodiment, in step S188 a, an input window is displayed,and the default values of disposal control conditions 1301 andexpiration time of data disposal 1302 are displayed on the input columnof the input window. In step S189 a, the respective set values ofdisposal control conditions 1301 and expiration time of data disposal1302 are input. In step S190 a, the respective set values aresubstituted for disposal control conditions 1301 and expiration time ofdata disposal 1302 of the entry of data 18 added to data controlinformation 110 a of refuse bin 23, and “0” is substituted for time ofcontinuation of conditions 1303.

The processing of FIG. 101 corresponds to the processing of FIG. 98 inthe first embodiment. That is, in step S2120, data control information110 a of data 18 selected from refuse bin 23 is obtained. In step S2121a, an input window is formed, and disposal control conditions 1301 andexpiration time of data disposal 1302 of the data 18 obtained from datacontrol information 110 a are displayed. In step S2122 a, respective setvalues of disposal control conditions 1301 and expiration time of datadisposal 1302 are input. In step S2123 a, the respective set values aresubstituted for disposal control conditions 1301 and expiration time ofdata disposal 1302 of the entry of data control information 110 a ofrefuse bin 23, and “0” is substituted for time of continuation ofconditions 1303.

The processing of FIG. 102 corresponds to the monitoring processing ofFIG. 56. In step S2140, data control information 110 a of refuse bin 23is obtained. In step S2141, disposal control conditions 1301 of one dataare taken out. In step S2142, it is determined whether or not disposalcontrol conditions 1301 of that data are satisfied. If the result of thedetermination is negative, the process branches to step S2143, wheretime of continuation of conditions 1303 is set to “0”, and the processproceeds to step S2147.

If the result of the determination in step S2142 is affirmative, theprocess proceeds to step S2144, where a predetermined time is added totime of continuation of conditions 1303. If time of continuation ofconditions 1303 equals at least expiration time of data disposal 1302 instep S2145, the entry of that data is deleted and the file of the datais erased in step S2146, and the process proceeds to step S2147. If timeof continuation of conditions 1303 is less than expiration time of datadisposal 1302 in step S2145, the process proceeds to step S2147 withoutperforming the deletion and the like of the data. After performing suchprocessing for all entries of the data control information in stepS2147, in steps S2148 and S2149, the lapse of a predetermined time isawaited and the process returns to step S2140 after the lapse of thepredetermined time, and the same processing is repeated.

Accordingly, also in the present embodiment, each data which can bedisposed is physically disposed when the deadline of disposal for thedata arrives. Hence, it is possible to prevent wasteful occupation ofdata regions and the presence of data of low priority over a necessarytime period, and thereby to efficiently utilize data preservationregions.

Although in “disposal of data: 2”, reference date is used as disposalcontrol conditions 1301, various other conditions may be used, such as apredetermined time after reference or updating of data by a specificuser, a predetermined time after no user who has disclosed data ispresent, a predetermined time after the lapse of the deadline ofdisclosure, and the like. Furthermore, time of continuation ofconditions 1303 may be updated in any other process relating to theconditions in place of the disposal control process.

Disposal of Data: 3

Next, a description will be provided of “disposal of data: 3” accordingto a third embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS.103 through 105. FIG. 103 is a diagram illustrating data controlinformation 110 b in the third embodiment. FIG. 104 is a flowchartillustrating data disposal processing. FIG. 105 is a flowchartillustrating the processing of changing the size limit of data to bedisposed shown in FIG. 103. As shown in FIG. 103, in data controlinformation 110 b of the present embodiment, size of data to be disposed130 a is added to data control information 110 of the first embodiment.As described later, data having a size exceeding this size 130 a isdisposed without being preserved in refuse bin 23 irrespective ofdeadline of data disposal 130.

The processing of steps S180-S187 shown in FIG. 104 is the same as inthe first embodiment. In steps S180-S187, data 18 to be disposed iscopied to refuse bin 23, the entry of the data 18 in data controlinformation 110 of binder 20 in which the data 18 is present is deleted,and the file of the data 18 is erased.

In the present embodiment, in steps S188 b and S189 b, when data size116 of data control information 110 b of refuse bin 23 exceeds the sizeof data to be disposed 130 a, the entry of the data 18 in data controlinformation 110 of refuse bin 23 is deleted, and the file of the data 18is erased.

Although omitted in FIG. 104, the processing may be configured so thatwhen the set value of the time until data disposal is input in step S99in the first embodiment, in the last step S100, the time obtained byadding the set value of the time until data disposal to the current timeis substituted for the deadline of data disposal of the entry of thedata 18 added to data control information 110 of refuse bin 23.

In the processing of changing the size limit of data to be disposedshown in FIG. 105, in step S2150, data control information 110 b of data18 selected from refuse bin 23 is obtained. In step S2151, an inputwindow is formed, and size of data to be disposed 130 a obtained fromdata control information. 110 b is displayed. When size of data to bedisposed 130 a has been input in step S2152, in step S2153, the setvalue is substituted for size of data to be disposed 130 a of datacontrol information 110 b of refuse bin 23, and the process isterminated.

Deadline of data disposal 130 can be changed by the processing of FIG.98 in “disposal of data: 1”, and data of refuse bin 23 less than size ofdata to be disposed 130 a can be disposed by the processing of FIG. 56in “disposal of data: 1”. As a result, according to this “disposal ofdata: 3”, data having a size of at least the set value is disposedimmediately after being moved in disposal control. Hence, it is possibleto prevent wasteful occupation of data regions, and thereby toefficiently utilize data preservation regions.

Although in “disposal of data: 3”, size of data to be disposed 130 a isset by a manual operation, the size may be automatically set. Theautomatic setting of the size can be performed, for example, by settingthe size to 10% of the entire size of the disposal control region ofrefuse bin 23, or when the system is started. The size may also be setto 30% of the size of the current vacant region of the disposal controlregion. In such a case, since data to be disposed will be added to thedisposal control region or actually disposed, the size of the currentvacant region of the disposal control region changes, and therefore sizeof data to be disposed changes.

Furthermore, if size of data to be disposed 130 a is set to a particularvalue, other processing may be performed. For example, if size of datato be disposed 130 a is set to a minus value, data may not be physicallydisposed immediately after being moved to disposal control.Alternatively, if the size is set to “0”, data may be always disposedafter being moved to disposal control. If it is desired to restore data,the size may be set to a normal value.

Registration of a Floppy Disk

Next, a description will be provided of the operation when floppy disk17 is registered, that is, when new floppy disk 17 is added to afloppy-disk registration file with reference to FIGS. 96 and 97. FIG. 96illustrates the operational picture frame for the processing. FIG. 97illustrates the processing. In FIG. 96, if operation button G1026 b ofthe “system” is depressed, submenu G1120 is displayed. If the command of“FD registration” of submenu G1120 is selected, floppy-disk registrationwindow G1121 is displayed.

In the state of displaying window G1121, if floppy-disk name 1101,method of detection 1102 and converter 1103 shown in FIG. 90 are inputand cursor G37 is clicked on the “execution button” of window G1121, theinput data are registered. As for method of detection 1102 and converter1103, either one of the “function (function within desktop G14)” and the“process (a process different from desktop G14 is started)” is input andregistered.

For further details, in step S1171 shown in FIG. 97, floppy-diskregistration window G1121 is displayed. In step S1172, depression of thebutton is awaited. If the button has been depressed, in step S1173, itis determined whether or not the button is help button 27. If the resultof the determination is affirmative, help processing is performed instep S1174, and the process returns to step S1172. When help buttonG1027 has not been depressed, but the execution button has beendepressed, the process proceeds from step S1175 to steps after stepS1176. When a button other than help button G1027 and the executionbutton has been depressed, the registration processing is terminated.

In step S1176, the floppy-disk registration file is read. When name 1101has been input and the input name 1101 does not overlap any of alreadyregistered names in step S1177, and when method of detection 1102 hasbeen input and the input method of detection 1102 is present in stepS1178, and when converter 1103 has been input and the input converter1103 is present in step S1179, respective input data are added andwritten in the floppy-disk registration file. When in steps S1177-S1179,each data has not yet been set, or the name of the disk overlaps, or themethod of detection or the method of conversion is an unknown methodwhich cannot be utilized, an error of the parameter is displayed in stepS1150, and the registration processing is terminated.

Library Control

Data controlled by a library correspond to auxiliary data to which anapplication program refers in common with other application in order toprocess data. Consider, for example, an application program forprocessing document data. Document data includes character data, and acommand for shaping the corresponding document by the character data.Format data having information for shaping the document by interpretingthe command, or font data for displaying the character data, serving aslibrary data, is controlled as independent data. Thus, when anapplication program processes one document data, and displays theprocessed data on a CRT or prints the data, by switching, for example,font data, serving as library data used as auxiliary data, or formatdata, the style of the document can be easily changed without changingthe document data. Even when one format data is commonly used for aplurality of document data, it becomes unnecessary to include formatdata within document data. Hence, it is possible to prevent an increaseof document data. Such data in a state of being controlled by a libraryis grasped in the concept of library data 28.

Information for specifying necessary library data 28 is added to data18. Necessary library data 28 is determined from application 26 and data18 used by the application. Even when application 26 newly forms data18, the existent library data can be utilized.

Next, a description will be provided of the control of a library withreference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 7, library data 28 indicated by library-data objectsG23 which are displayed within library-binder window G22 have the sameform of object control information 110 as data 18 controlled undercabinet 16. These data can also be controlled under cabinet 16 asordinary data 18. In the desktop control system, when data 18 controlledunder cabinet 16 is also controlled as library data 28, only the name(provided by the user) of the library data may be held, and thecorresponding data 18 under cabinet 16 may be referred to using thename-when library data 28 becomes necessary.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 11, library 17 controlled by the desktop controlsystem comprises a library displayed within room window G01 of the user,and a library displayed within exit window G30. The library indicated bylibrary object G33 displayed on exit window G30 is a library whichbelongs to office 14 to which room 13 belongs. The library indicated bylibrary object G04 displayed within room window G01 of the user is alibrary which belongs to that room 13. Thus, library 17 is classifiedinto the following two types according to the form of control thereof.

(1) Library 17 which Belongs to Room 13

This is library 17 for an individual registered as an object of room 13.Its effective range corresponds to one user. By arranging so as to beaccessible from other users by performing the same processing as theabove-described disclosure operation of data 18, the effective range oflibrary 17 can correspond to a set of a plurality of arbitrarilyassigned users.

(2) Library 17 which Belongs to Office 14

This is library 17 registered as an object of office 14, and isaccessible only from users of rooms 13 included within that office 17.Its effective range corresponds to a set of a plurality of userspermanently assigned by the system. The effective range of library 17can correspond to all users by performing the above-described disclosureoperation.

Library 17 controls library binder 27 for each library information 70(library data 28) shown in FIG. 16. When library 17 is opened, librarywindow G19 is displayed as shown in FIG. 6. One library binder 27 storesonly library data 28 having the same format ID 51. Library ID 71 whichlibrary binder 27 has as its attribute is the same as library ID 54 ofdata information 50 of the stored library data 30.

Formation of a Library Binder

The procedure and processing for forming a new library binder 27 inlibrary 17 within room 13 by the user will be described with referenceto FIG. 57 and the flowchart of FIG. 58.

When the user forms a new library binder 27 in library 17 within room13, library-binder generation button G60 on library window G19 isselected in step S200. In the desktop control system, in step S202, onlyentries having registered library ID's 54 are obtained from datainformation. In step S203, library-selection window G61 in which onlythe summary of the above-described data information 50 is displayed isdisplayed by library-section window 101. In step S204, the user selectsone of the displayed information. In step S205, the entry of libraryinformation 70 within library 17 is newly formed, and the newly formedlibrary ID 71 is substituted for the selected data information 50. Instep S206, library-binder object G20 of library binder 27 is newlydisplayed on the window of library 11.

If a new library is necessary when newly registering application 26,library 27 of the necessary group (the kind of library data 31), andlibrary data 28 may be registered. When registering application 26,library information 70 is registered in the desktop control systemtogether with the group of the corresponding library 17. At that time,default data 18 provided by application 26 is registered as librarywhich belongs to office 14. When the group of library 17 has beenregistered, library binder 27 is generated for the group, and the dataof the group is stored, that is, registered and controlled as librarydata 28.

Registration of Data in a Library

The operation and the procedure of registering data 18 under cabinet 16as library data 28 will be described with reference to the flowchart ofFIG. 59.

When registering data 18 under cabinet 16 as library data 28, the sameoperation as the ordinary copying (moving) operation of data 18 shown inFIG. 25 is performed. The user opens library-binder object G20indicating library binder 27 of library 17 in which the data is to beregistered, and displays library-binder window G22. Data object G18indicating data 18 within binder 20 to be registered in the library isdragged, and is dropped within library-binder window G22.

In the desktop control system, in step S210, object control information110 of binder 20 of the copy source is obtained. Next, in step S211, theentry of data information 50 having the same format ID 51 as the formatID 113 of the previously obtained object control information 110 isobtained. In step S212, library ID 71 of library binder 27 indicated bylibrary-binder window G22 on which data object G18 has been dropped fromlibrary information 70 of library 17. In step S213, the library ID 51 ofthe data information 50 obtained in step S211 is compared with thelibrary ID 71. If the two library ID's differ, incapability ofregistration is displayed in step S214, and the process is terminated.

If the library ID 54. coincides with the library ID 71 in step S213, theabove-described operation of copying the data 18 from binder 20 of thecopy source to library binder 27 is performed in step S215. In stepS216, the data 18 is displayed within library-binder window G22 aslibrary-data object G23.

Retrieval of Libraries

When application 26.uses library data 28 controlled by the desktopcontrol system, a message is transmitted to the desktop control systemusing a known arbitrary communication means between programs. Thismessage includes the command of “request of library data”, andspecifying information when library ID 71 and library data 28 to berequested can be specified, for example, the name of library data 28,and information for specifying data 18 which uses library data 28.

The processing of retrieving library data 28 will be described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 60.

In the desktop control system which has received the message fromapplication 26, in step S220, the message is analyzed to obtain libraryinformation 70 of room 13 to which the data belongs from the informationfor specifying the data 18 which uses the library data 28. In step S221,object control information 110 of the library binder which controls thelibrary data 28 of the requested library ID 71 is obtained from thepreviously obtained library information 70.

In step S222, it is checked whether or not information for specifyingthe library data 28 has been set. If the result of the check isaffirmative, library data 28 are retrieved from object controlinformation 110 of the obtained library binder 27. In step S226, theobtained library data 28 is notified to application 26 using theabove-described communication means.

The case of the negative result of the check in step S222 corresponds toa case in which application 26 requests a new library data 28 selectedby the user. In such a case, in step S224, the window of theabove-described library binder 27 obtained from object controlinformation 110 of the obtained library binder 27 is opened, andlibrary-object data G23 within the above-described library binder 27 isdisplayed. In step S225, a selective input to library data 28 by theuser is awaited. In step S226, the selected library data 28 is notifiedto application 26 using the above-described communication means.

Retrieval of Libraries by Data Request

When application 26 which is processing data 18 has requested librarydata 28, the requested data is retrieved from library 17 of room 13 inwhich data 18 is present to be processed by application 26. If therequested data is not present in the retrieved library 17, the data isretrieved from library 17 of office 14 to which the room belongs. Thatis, when application 26 which is processing data 18 of another office 14has requested library data 28, the requested data is retrieved firstfrom library 17 of room 13 of the owner of data 18, and then fromlibrary 17 of office 14 to which room 13 of the owner belongs in office14 in which data 18 is present. When application 26 has opened data 18copied from room 13 of another user to room 13 of the user and hasrequested library data 28 of the opened data 18, the requested data isretrieved first from library 17 of room 13 of the user, and then fromlibrary 17 of office 14 to which the room belongs. When copying datafrom room 13 of another user to room 13 of the user, it is also possibleto automatically copy library data 31 to be referred to to library 17 ofroom 13 of the user. In such a case, the data is copied within librarybinder 27 having the same library ID 71 as library: data 28 to becopied. In determining the retrieval order of library data 28 of data18, it is also possible to assign library 17 of a specific room 13 orlibrary 17 of a specific office 14 by obtaining office ID 91 or user ID81 from library-retrieval-order information 150 shown in FIG. 22.Library-retrieval-order information 150 is information for each room 13,and the retrieval order can be arbitrarily set by the user.

Although in the case of FIG. 22, the maximum number of retrieval ordersis 2, an arbitrary number of retrieval orders can be set. Iflibrary-retrieval-order information 150 is not set, retrieval isperformed according to the above-described order.

Updating of Library Data

Library data 28 can, for example, be formed, edited and deleted byapplication 26 entirely in the same manner as for ordinary data 18.

As shown in FIG. 16, library information 70 includes information onfrequency of disclosures 74 indicating how many times library data 28within library binder 27 has been opened. As shown FIGS. 17 and 18, userinformation 80 and Office information 90 include information of libraryupdating mode 84 and library updating mode 95 (hereinafter termed incommon a “library updating mode”) indicating whether libraries 17 ofroom 13 and office 14 are opened in an updating mode, respectively, sothat updating of library data 28 can be controlled.

Only library 17 first opened in an updating mode in room 13 or office 14can be opened in an updating mode. When library 17 has been opened, the“library updating mode” is set, and updating of library data 28 becomespossible.

When application 26 requests data 18, the data 18 can be opened even ina state in which the “library updating mode” is set in library 17 ofroom 13 in which the data 18 is present. However, the response to therequest of library data 28 from application 26 is “incapability ofreference”. That is, data 18 in which only data 28 is absent is providedto application 26.

When application 26 which set the “library updating mode” has closedlibrary data 28, the setting of the “library updating mode” is released,and reference to that library 17 becomes possible. Also for library data28 of library binder 27 opened only in a reference mode, the updatingoperation of library data 28 of a plurality of simultaneously openedlibrary binders 27 can be prohibited. Frequency of opening operations 74with prohibiting an updating operation if a predetermined number oflibrary data 28 have been opened can be arbitrarily set.

As indicated by G21 shown in FIG. 6, the desktop control system has thefunction of displaying frequency of opening operations 74 of librarybinder 27, and the user can know frequency of opening operations 74.

Clipping Board

In some cases, application 26 copies or moves data 18 or a part thereofwithin the application, or to one or a plurality of other applications.Data formed for that purpose, and a portion for temporarily storing thatdata are controlled under the concept of clipped data and a clippingboard, respectively. Clipping board 24 includes a window.for displayingstored clipped data 32. Clipped data 32 is controlled by the objectcontrol information shown in FIG. 20 in the same manner as an objectwithin cabinet 16 or binder 20. In clipped data 32, format ID 113indicating the kind of the data is set by application 26 which hasformed that clipped data 32.

Application 26 which requests clipped data 32 specifies the kind of thedata requested to the desktop control system by format ID 113.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 11, clipping board 24 controlled by the desktopcontrol system comprises a clipping board displayed within room windowG01 of the user, and a clipping board displayed. within exit window G30.The clipping board indicated by clipping-board object G34 displayed onexit window G30 is a clipping board which belongs to office 14 to whichroom 13 belongs. The clipping board indicated by clipping-board objectG08 displayed within room window G01 of the user is a clipping boardwhich belongs to that room 13. Thus, clipping board 24 is classifiedinto the following two types according to the state of control thereof.

(1) Clipping Board 24 which Belongs to Room 13

This is clipping board 24 for an individual registered as an object ofroom 13. Its effective range corresponds to one user. By making clippingboard 24 be accessible by other users by performing the same processingas the above-described opening operation of data 18, the effective rangeof clipping board 24 can correspond to the set of a plurality ofarbitrarily assigned users.

(2) Clipping Board 214 which Belongs to Office 14

This is clipping board 24 registered as an object of office 14, and is aclipping board 24 which only users of room 13 included in that office 17can access in common. Its effective range corresponds to the set of aplurality of permanently assigned users.

Registration of clipped data in a clipping board A description will beprovided of the operation and procedure of registering clipped data 32of the desktop control system by application 26 with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 62.

Application 26 transmits a message to the desktop control system using aknown arbitrary communication means between programs. This messageincludes the command of “register clipped data 32”, and format ID 113 ofclipped data 32 to be registered. Upon reception of the message fromapplication 26, in step S230, the desktop control system analyzes themessage, and obtains the format ID 113 of the clipped data 32 assignedby the application.

Next, in step S231, a message to urge the user to provide the name ofthe clipped data 32 to be newly registered is displayed, and the name ofthe clipped data 32 is obtained.

Next, in step S232, the data is copied to the clipping board. In stepS233, the clipped data 32 is registered in clipping board 24 togetherwith the format ID 113 assigned by application 26, and the registereddata is displayed within clipping-board window G62 shown in FIG. 61 asclipped-data object G63.

Selection of Clipped Data

The procedure for utilizing clipped data 32 registered in clipping board24 of the desktop control system by application 26 will be describedwith reference to FIG. 63.

When application 26 uses clipped data 32 registered in clipping board 24of the desktop control system, a message is transmitted to the desktopcontrol system using a known arbitrary communication means betweenprograms. The message includes the command of “request of clipped data32”, and one or a plurality of format ID's 113 which can be utilized byapplication 26.

Upon reception of the message from application 26, in step S240, thedesktop control system analyzes the message, and obtains the one or theplurality of requested format ID's 113.

Next, in step S241, one or a plurality of clipped data 32 having theformat ID's coinciding with format ID's 113 assigned by application 26are retrieved from among clipped data 32 registered on clipping board24.

Next, in step S242, clipping-board window G62 is opened, and the one orthe plurality of clipped data 32 having the format ID's coinciding withformat ID's 113 assigned by application 26 retrieved from clipping board24 are displayed as clipped-data objects G63.

When clipped data 32 have been selected by the user in step S243, instep S244, the desktop control system notifies application 26 of theselected clipped data 32 using the above-described communication means.

Cutting Buffer

Next, a description will be provided of the function of a cutting,copying and pasting buffer (hereinafter termed a “CCP buffer”) possessedby the desktop control system.

In some cases, application 26 copies or moves data 18 or a part thereofwithin that application, or to one or a plurality of applications. Dataformed for that purpose, and a portion for temporarily storing the dataare controlled under the concept of “CCP data”, and a “CCP buffer”,respectively. The “CCP buffer” differs from the above-described clippingboard 24 in not having a means for displaying stored “CCP data”.

FIG. 64 is a diagram illustrating CCP-data control information 160.CCP-data control information 160 is information for controlling “CCPdata” by the desktop control systen, and is present in each room 13.

CCP-data control information 160 includes the following items withrespect to one “CCP data”: file name 161 indicating the contents of CCPdata, format ID 162 indicating the kind of CCP data, size 163 of CCPdata, user ID 164 of the user who has formed the CCP data, and group ID165 of the group which has formed the CCP data. One “CCP data” is storedin a “CCP buffer” for each format ID 162. When “CCP data” of theassigned format ID 162 is already registered in a “CCP buffer” whenapplication 26 performs registration in the “CCP buffer” by assigningthe format ID 162, only the latest registered data is stored aseffective “CCP data”.

By assigning format ID 162, application 26 can obtain “CCP data” of theassigned format ID 162 which is uniquely present within the CCP buffer”.A plurality of clipped data 32 can be stored for each format ID 113 inthe above-described clipping board 24. When application 26 requestsclipped data 26 by assigning format ID 113, the user must select fromamong clipped-data objects G63 indicating clipped data 32 of that formatID 113 displayed on clipping-board window G62 which has been formed.However, the “CCP buffer” differs from the clipping board in that, sinceonly one “CCP data” of the format ID assigned by the application ispresent at most, the user need not perform selection. “CCP data” storedin a “CCP buffer” are controlled by the desktop control system. Howeverthe user cannot see the stored data as ordinary data stored withincabinet 16.

“CCP data” is formed by application 26, and format ID indicating thekind of the data is set by that application. The “CCP data” formed byapplication 26 is stored in the “CCP buffer” which belongs to the roomof the user operating that application. Each “CCP data” within a “CCPbuffer” has its peculiar format ID 162. By requesting “CCP data” havinga specific format ID 162 to the desktop control system by application26, the desktop control system can specify the “CCP data” having theformat ID 162 within the “CCP buffer” which belongs to room 13 of theuser, and provide the application with the specified data. Someoperations relating to the “CCP buffer” and “CCP data” will be describedwith reference to the drawings.

Registration in a CCP Buffer

The procedure of registering “CCP data” in a “CCP buffer” controlled bythe desktop control system by application 26 will be described withreference to FIG. 65.

Application 26 transmits a message to the desktop control system using aknown arbitrary communication means between programs. This messageincludes the command of “register CCP data”, and format ID 162 of “CCPdata” assigned by the application to be registered.

Upon reception of the message from application 26, in step S250, thedesktop control system analyzes the message, and obtains the format ID162 of the “CCP data” assigned by application 26.

Next, in step S251, the “CCP data” is registered in the “CCP buffer”together with the format ID 162 assigned by application 26.

Acquisition of CCP Data

The procedure for utilizing “CCP data” registered in a “CCP buffer”controlled by the desktop control system by application 26 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 66.

When application 26 uses “CCP data” registered in a “CCP buffer” of thedesktop control system, application 26 transmits a message to thedesktop control system using a known arbitrary communication meansbetween programs. This message includes the command of “request of CCPdata”, and format ID 162 for specifying “CCP data”. Upon reception ofthe message from application 26, in step S260, the desktop controlsystem analizes the message, and obtains the requested format ID 162.

Next, in step S261, “CCP data” which coincides with the received formatID 162 is retrieved. In step S262, it is determined whether or not “CCPdata” having the specific format ID 162 assigned by application 26 ispresent. When “CCP data” having the specific format ID 162 assigned byapplication 26 has not been found, the process is terminated.

When “CCP data” having the specific format ID assigned by application 26has been obtained as a result of the determination in step S262, in stepS263, the unique “CCP data” within the “CCP buffer” is notified toapplication 26 using the above-described communication means.

Retrieval

In a retrieval operation, for example, binders 20, library binders 27and data 18 under cabinet 16 are made to be targets of retrieval.Retrieval conditions are set for these targets, and binder 20, librarybinder 27 and data 18 which coincide with the retrieval conditions aredisplayed on the window.

Retrieval conditions comprise, for example, information relating tobinders 20, library binders 27 and data 18 as targets of retrieval. Inthe present embodiment, such information comprises items, such as dataof registration 117, date of updating 118, name in Japanese 115, owner'suser ID 120, owner's group ID 121, object type 111 and the like, ofobject control information 110 shown in FIG. 20, and logicalcombinations thereof. Retrieval conditions may be determined, forexample, by presenting all potential retrieval conditions to the user ascandidates so that the user can select some of them. Alternatively, theuser may sequentially input retrieval conditions. The following methodsof presenting the result of retrieval to the user, for example, can beconsidered.

(a) A method in which a specific region is used for displaying theresult of retrieval for a specific period from the start to the end ofretrieval processing, and no dedicated means for displaying the resultof retrieval is provided.

(b) A method in which retrieval-result display means which newlygenerates a dedicated window for displaying only items coinciding withretrieval conditions is provided.

(c) A method in which the above-described methods (a) and (b) arecombined whenever necessary.

Next, a description will be provided of embodiments of the presentinvention with respect to retrieval processing and the method ofpresenting the result of retrieval to the user.

First, retrieval processing of binder 20 present at a hierarchyimmediately under cabinet 16 will be described for each of theabove-described methods. In the present embodiments, a description willbe provided of methods of utilizing object control information 110 ofcabinet 16 in retrieval processing. However, a method of performingretrieval processing by forming a data structure for retrievalprocessing may also be considered. For the convenience of description,in the present embodiments, simple conditions, such as the contents ofobject type 111 of object control information 110 or the like, are setas retrieval information. However, as described above, various otherretrieval conditions may be set.

An embodiment relating to the above-described method (a) will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 5, 67 and the flowchart of FIG. 68. Itis assumed that the window for displaying the summary of objects withincabinet 16 is also used for displaying the result of retrieval.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, the summary of all objects within cabinet 16is displayed within cabinet window G16. If retrieval processing isexecuted for these objects as “retrieve binders 20 within cabinet 16”,it is checked whether or not object type 111 of object controlinformation 110 of cabinet 16 is a binder as retrieval conditions (FIG.68, step S300), and display of items which do not agree with theretrieval conditions are erased from cabinet window G16 (step S301).Such processing is performed for all entries (objects) of cabinet 16(step S302), and the presentation of the result of retrieval to the useris terminated.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 67, only binder objects G101 indicatingbinders 20 which have agreed with the retrieval conditions remain withincabinet window G100, and an object which has not agreed with theretrieval conditions (that is, data 18) becomes in a non-displayedstate.

Next, an embodiment relating to the method (b) will be described withreference to FIGS. 5, 69 and the flowchart of FIG. 70. First, as shownin FIG. 5, the summary of all objects within cabinet 16 is displayedwithin cabinet window G16. If retrieval processing is executed for theseobjects as “retrieve binders 20 within cabinet 16”,retrieval-result-display window G110 as shown in FIG. 69 is generated(FIG. 70, step S310), it is checked whether or not object type 111 ofobject control information 110 of cabinet 16 is a binder as retrievalconditions (step S311), and objects which have agreed with the retrievalconditions are displayed on retrieval-result-display window G110 asretrieval-result objects G111 (step S312). Such processing is performedfor all entries (objects) of cabinet 16 (step S313), and thepresentation of the result of retrieval to the user is terminated.

As a results although the display on cabinet window G16 is invariable,as shown in FIG. 69, only binders 20 which have agreed with theretrieval conditions are newly displayed on retrieval-result-displaywindow G110 as retrieval-result objects G111.

Next, an embodiment relating to the method (c) will be described withreference to FIGS. 5, 67, 71 and the flowchart of FIG. 73.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, the summary of all objects within cabinet 16is displayed within cabinet window G16. If retrieval processing isexecuted for these objects as “retrieve binders 20 within cabinet 16”,retrieval-result-details window G120 as shown in FIG. 71 is generated(FIG. 73, step S330), it is checked whether or not object type 111 ofobject control information 110 of cabinet 16 is a binder as retrievalconditions (step S331), and display of objects which have not agreedwith the retrieval conditions are erased from cabinet window G16 (stepS332). Additional information of the agreed objects is displayed onretrieval-result-details window G120 (step S333). Such processing isperformed for all entries (objects) of cabinet 16 (step S334), and thepresentation of the result of retrieval to the user is terminated.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 67, only the display of binder objects G17indicating binders 20 which have agreed with the retrieval conditionsremains within cabinet window G16, and an object which has not agreedwith the retrieval conditions (that is, data 18) becomes in anon-displayed state. In addition, as shown in FIG. 71, detailedinformation relating to binders 20 whose display remains on cabinetwindow G16 is displayed on retrieval-result-details window G120.

According to substantially the same processing procedure as theabove-described retrieval processing procedure of binders 20 present ata hierachy immediately under cabinet 16, retrieval of data 18 present ata hierachy immediately under cabinet 16, retrieval of library binders 27present at a hierarchy immediately under cabinet 16, retrieval oflibrary data 28 present at a hierarchy immediately under cabinet 16,retrieval of binders 20 present at a hierarchy immediately under binder20, retrieval of data 18 present at a hierarchy immediately under binder20, retrieval of library binders 27 present at a hierarchy immediatelyunder library binder 27, retrieval of data 28 present at a hierarchyimmediately under library binder 27, retrieval of open trays 29 presentat a hierarchy immediately under open shelves 22, retrieval of data 18and binders 20 present at a hierarchy immediately under tag tray 19, andthe like can be performed by setting object type 111 as retrievalconditions.

In another approach, the user may select from among the three methods ofdisplaying the result of retrieval (a), (b) and (c).

In the following embodiment of retrieval processing, for the convenienceof description, a description will be provided illustrating the method(1) in which dedicated retrieval-result window G110 for displaying theresult of retrieval is generated.

A description will now be provided of the processing of retrievingobjects present at the second hierarchy under cabinet 16 with referenceto the flowchart of FIG. 72.

An object present at the second hierarchy under cabinet 16 is, forexample, an object present at a hierarchy immediately under binder 20which is present at a hierarchy immediately under cabinet 16. When “datapresent at the second hierarchy under cabinet 16” has been set asretrieval conditions and retrieval has been executed, retrieval-resultwindow G110 for displaying the result of retrieval is generated (stepS320). An entry whose object type 111 is a binder is selected fromobject control information 110 of cabinet 16 (step S321).

It is checked whether or not object type 111 is data 18 by readingobject control information 110 based on the information of the entry(step S322), and the corresponding icon file is read from format ID 113and data information 50 of a coincident entry, and is displayed onretrieval-result window G110 as retrieval-result object G111 (stepS324). Such processing is performed for all entries of object controlinformation 110 of the corresponding binder 20 (step S325), and theprocess returns to the processing of selecting an entry whose objecttype 111 is a binder 20 from object control information 110 of cabinet16 (step S321).

Such a processing is performed for all entries of object controlinformation 110 of cabinet 16 (step S326), and the retrieval processingis terminated.

By recurrently performing such processing, retrieval can be executedirrespective of the number or hierarchies. The execution of retrieval bysetting retrieval conditions with making objects present at differenthierarchies targets of retrieval can be realized by changing the numberof executions of recurrent retrieval processing. This will be explainedwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 74. In this case, it is assumedthat objects present at hierarchies under cabinet 16 are made to betargets of retrieval irrespective of hierarchies, and retrieval isexecuted under the retrieval conditions of “object type 111 of objectcontrol information 110 is data, and creator ID 114 is 012”. Inaddition, in the present embodiment, for the convenience of description,it is assumed that data 18 can be present only immediately under cabinetor immediately under binder 20.

When retrieval conditions have been set with making objects present atan arbitrary hierarchy under cabinet 16 the target of retrieval, andretrieval has been executed, retrieval-result window G110 for displayingthe result of retrieval is generated (step S340). Next, cabinet 16 ismade to be the target of retrieval, “processing” which is standardprocessing is performed with providing retrieval conditions (step S341),and the process is terminated.

Next, the “processing” of step S341 shown in FIG. 74 will be describedwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 75. The “processing” is a modulefor realizing the function of recurrently retrieving and extracting data18 for an object which can have lower hierarchies, such as binder 20,library 27, open shelves 22, open tray 29, tag tray 19 or the like aswell as cabinet 16, and of displaying information of data 18 which agreewith retrieval conditions on retrieval-result window G110.

When the “processing” has been called for, an entry whose object type111 is data 18 is selected from object control information 110 of theobject assigned when the “processing” was called for (step S350), it isdetermined whether or not the entry agrees with the retrieval conditionsof “object type 111 of object control information 110 is data, andcreator ID 114 is 012” (step S351), and the corresponding icon file isread from format ID 113 and data information 50 of the coincident entry,and is displayed on retrieval-result window G110 together with necessaryinformation as retrieval-result object G111 (step S352).

For an entry whose object type 111 is determined to be other than datafrom object control information 110 of the object assigned when the“processing” was called, “processing” is recurrently called for togetherwith the retrieval conditions and the target of retrieval (step S354).Such processing is performed for all entries of object controlinformation 110 of the object assigned when the “processing” was calledfor (step S353), and the process starts again from the “processing”.

Arrival to the Result of Retrieval

Next, a description will be provided of the processing of reaching theobject which has agreed with retrieval conditions based on the result ofretrieval without following the control structure of data. In thepresent embodiment, it is assumed that the targets of retrieval is data18 and binders 20 under cabinet 16. First, the processing of generatinginformation for reaching the object which has agreed with the retrievalconditions based on the result of retrieval without following the datacontrol structure will be described with reference to the flowchart ofFIG. 79.

When retrieval processing has been executed, retrieval-result windowG110 is generated (step S360). At the same time, this retrieval-resultwindow G110 generates object control information 110 which storesinformation on retrieval-result objects within retrieval-result windowG110 as objects having a hierarchical structure thereunder, such ascabinet 16, binder 20 and the like (step S361). In the course of theexecution of the retrieval processing, objects which have agreed withthe retrieval conditions (step S362) are displayed on retrieval-resultwindow G110 (step S363). At the same time, the corresponding entryinformation of object control information 110 of cabinet 16 to beretrieved which has been used for determining agreement with theretrieval conditions is copied to the entry of the object controlinformation of retrieval-result window G110 (step S364). Such processingis performed for all targets of retrieval (step S365).

Next, a description will be provided of an opening operation forretrieval-result window G110 having such a configuration with referenceto FIG. 77. Retrieval-result objects G111 indicating binder 20 and data18 which have agreed with the retrieval conditions are displayed onretrieval-result window G110. The same processing as for binder objectG17 and data object G18 indicating the corresponding binder 20 and data18, respectively, is performed for retrieval-result objects G111 withinretrieval-result window G110.

That is, when an opening operation has been performed forretrieval-result object G111 on retrieval-result window G110,information of the entry corresponding to the assigned object isobtained from data control information 110 of retrieval-result windowG110 (step S370). In accordance with the kind of the assigned object(step S371), the processing of opening binder 22 or data 18 is performed(steps S372 and S373). As for an operation of deleting the result ofretrieval, it is possible to prohibit the deletion, or to arrange sothat only the arrival index to data 18 or binder 20 indicated by theretrieval-result object is deleted, and the corresponding binder 20 ordata 18 is not deleted.

Presentation of the Result of Retrieval to the User in Consideration ofthe Hierarchical Structure

Next, a description will be provided of an embodiment of presenting theresult of retrieval to the user in consideration of the hierarchicalstructure when objects having a hierarchical structure, such as data 18and binder 20, simultaneously agree with retrieval conditions withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 78, and FIGS. 2, 79(A), 79(B) and 80.In the present embodiment, it is assumed that retrieval conditions havebeen set with making data 18 and binders 20 present at arbitraryhierarchies under cabinet 16 the targets of retrieval, theabove-described retrieval processing has been executed, and data 18 andbinder 20 in the hierarchical structure indicated by thick frames shownin FIG. 79(A) have agreed with the retrieval conditions as a result ofretrieval. It is also assumed that the result of retrieval is displayedan retrieval-result objects on retrieval-result window G110 as shown inFIG. 79(B) irrespective of-the hierarchical structure of actual data.

Suppose that a retrieval-result object indicating binder 20 having thename of “binder 0” has been opened from retrieval-result window G110.Then, as described above, binder 20 is opened and binder window G22 isdisplayed by the operation for binder 20 indicated by theretrieval-result object. In this binder window G22, the display ofbinder object G20 or data object G18 indicating binder 20 or data 18,respectively, indicated by retrieval-result object G111 displayed withinretrieval-result window G110 is changed such that, for example, thecorresponding icon is subjected to meshing processing as shown in FIG.80, in order to clearly indicate that the corresponding object is anobject which has agreed with the retrieval conditions in the retrievaloperation. The processing of performing such display will be describedwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 78.

When retrieval-result object G130 indicating binder 20 having the nameof “binder 0” shown in FIGS. 79(A) and 79(B) has been opened by a2-click operation, binder window G22 is generated (step S380), and thecorresponding icon file is read from format ID 113 and data information36 of each entry of object control information 110 of binder 20 ofretrieval-result object G130, and the corresponding object is displayedtogether with the above-described information necessary for the window(step S381). Next, it is checked whether or not the same information asthis entry is included in an entry of object control information 110 ofretrieval-result window G110 (step S382). If the result of the check isaffirmative, for example, meshing processing as shown in FIG. 80 issuperposed on the icon display on the window so as to facilitateidentification by the user (step S383). The above-described processingis performed for all entries of object control information 110 of binder20 having the name of “binder 0” (step S384), and the process isterminated.

Next, an embodiment of performing arbitrary processing by starting anapplication program for the result of retrieval will be described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 81, and FIG. 82. FIG. 82 illustratesretrieval-result window G110, on which retrieval-result objects G111indicating data 18 which have agreed with retrieval conditions aredisplayed. Various items, such as edition, printing and the like, may beconsidered as processing to be executed for the result of retrieval. Inthe present embodiment, however, it is assumed that printing processingis performed by starting an application program for starting printing.The application program to perform the processing is started, forexample, by selecting the corresponding processing from a list.

When retrieval-result object G150 indicating data 18 has been selected,and operation button G140 on retrieval-result window G110 has beenselected (step S390), the format ID 51 and the creator ID 114 of theselected data 18 are obtained from the entry of the data 18corresponding to the selected retrieval-result object G150 (step S391).By comparing the obtained format ID 51 and creator ID 114 withapplication information 60, the processing name in processing list 65corresponding to the format ID 51 in the entry having the sameapplication ID 61 as the creater ID 114 is obtained (step S392), and isdisplayed as menu list G141 (step S393).

When one item in the list G141 has been selected by the user (stepS394), the corresponding file name 112 is obtained from the entry ofobject control information 110 of retrieval-result window G110 (stepS395). The application is started by execution-module name 62corresponding to application ID 61 by providing the application programwith the obtained format ID51 and the processing code corresponding tothe item selected from the list G141 (step S396). When a plurality ofdata have been selected, the process can be executed by repeating aseries of the above-described processing.

Execution of Retrieval Processing in Consideration of DisclosedInformation

Next, a description will be provided of the processing of executingretrieval for an object possessed by other users with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 83. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that userA uses data 18 under cabinet 16 of user B, and data 18 under cabinet 16of user C as targets of retrieval, and executes retrieval processing bysetting retrieval conditions. It is also assumed that according to theabove-described disclosure operation, cabinet 16 of user B is opened touser A executing the retrieval processing (this state is termed as “userA is a disclosed user of user B with respect to the object”), andcabinet 16 of user C is not opened to user A (this state is termed as“user A is a closed user of user C with respect to the object”).

When user A has started the execution of retrieval processing by settingretrieval conditions by making cabinets 16 of user B and user C targetsof retrieval, retrieval-result-display window G110 is generated (stepS400). When retrieving, for example, cabinet 16 of another user, theentry corresponding to the cabinet 16 to be retrieved is searched forobject control information 110 of open tray 29 (step S401). If thecorresponding entry is present, the “processing” shown in the flowchartof FIG. 75 is called for the cabinet 16 together with the retrievalconditions (step S402). If the corresponding entry is absent, displaythat the object assigned by the user as the target of retrieval isclosed to user A (step S403). Such processing is repeated for allobjects possessed by the other user (step S404), and the retrievalprocessing for objects possessed by the other user is terminated.

Next, a description will be provided of the processing of executingretrieval processing and suppressing the presentation of the result ofretrieval to the user in accordance with disclosed information whenretrieval for objects possessed by another user has been executed withreference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 84 and 85. In the presentembodiment, it is assumed that user A uses data 18 under cabinet 16 ofuser B, and data 18 under cabinet 16 of user C as targets of retrieval,and executes retrieval processing with setting retrieval conditions. Itis also assumed that according to an operation conforming to the“disclosure operation”, cabinet 16 of user B is disclosed to user Aexecuting the retrieval processing, and cabinet 16 of user C is closedto user A.

When user A has started the execution of retrieval processing withsetting retrieval conditions with making cabinets 16 of users B and Ctargets of retrieval, retrieval-result-display window G110 is generated(step S410).

Next, “processing not having display” (to be described later) is calledfor the assigned cabinet 16 together with the retrieval conditions (stepS411). Next, the entry corresponding to the retrieved cabinet 16 issearched for object control information 110 of open tray 29 (step S412).If the corresponding entry is present, the result of retrieval isdisplayed on retrieval-result-display window G110 based on informationreturned from the “processing not having display” (step S413). If thecorresponding entry is absent, information causing no problem even if itis known by closed users, information which is permitted for closedusers to know, for example, in order to control the system, and the likeare selectively displayed on retrieval-result-display window G110 (stepS414). Such processing is repeated for all objects possessed by otheruser assigned as targets of retrieval (step S415), and retrievalprocessing for objects possessed by the other user is terminated.

The above-described information causing no problem even if it is knownby closed users comprises, for example, the presence/absence of anobject which agrees with retrieval conditions.

The information which is permitted for closed users to know, forexample, in order to control the system comprises, for example, thesize, the date of registration, the date of updating, and the like of anobject which are displayed without displaying information which canspecify the object, such as the name of the object and the like.

Next, a description will be provided of the “processing not havingdisplay” shown in step S411 of FIG. 84 with reference to the flowchartof FIG. 85. The “processing not having display” is a module forrealizing the function of recurrently retrieving and extracting data 18for an object which can have lower hierarchies, such as binder 20,library binder 27, open shelves 22, open tray 29, tag tray 19 or thelike as well as cabinet 16, and of displaying information of data 18which agree with retrieval conditions on retrieval-result-display windowG110.

When the “processing not having display” has been called for, a returninformation region is secured and the process is initialized (stepS420), and an entry whose object type 111 is data 18 is selected fromobject control information 110 of the object assigned when theprocessing was called (step S421). Then it is determined whether or notthe entry agrees with the retrieval conditions (step S422), andinformation of the agreed entry is set as return information (stepS423). For an entry whose object type 111 is determined to be other thandata 18 from object control information 110 of the object assigned whenthe processing was called for, the “processing not having display” isrecurrently called for together with the retrieval conditions andtargets of retrieval (step S424). Such processing is repeated for allentries of object control information 110 of the object assigned whenthe processing was called for (step S425), and return information isreturned from the “processing not having display”.

Execution of Retrieval Processing in Consideration of DisclosedInformation for a User Group

Next, a description will be provided of the processing of executingretrieval for objects possessed by other users with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 86. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that userA uses data 18 under cabinet 16 of user B, and data 18 under cabinet 16of user C as targets of retrieval, and executes retrieval processingwith setting retrieval conditions. It is also assumed that according toan operation conforming to the “disclosure operation”, cabinet 16 ofuser B is disclosed to the user group to which user A executing theretrieval processing belongs (this state is termed as “user A is a userof a disclosed user group of user B” with respect to the object), andcabinet 16 of user C is closed to the user group to which user A belongs(this state is termed as “user A is a user of a closed user group ofuser C with respect to the object”).

When user A has started the execution of retrieval processing withsetting the retrieval conditions with making cabinet 16 of users B and Ctargets of retrieval, retrieval-result-display window G110 is generated(step S430). When retrieving cabinet 16 of other users, the entrycorresponding to the cabinet 16 to be retrieved is searched for objectcontrol information 110 of open tray 29 (step S431). If thecorresponding entry is present, the “processing” shown in the flowchartof FIG. 75 is called for the cabinet 16 together with the retrievalconditions (step S432). If the corresponding entry is absent, displaythat the object assigned by user A as the target of retrieval is closedto the user group to which user A belongs (step S433). Such processingis repeated for all objects possessed by the other user (step S434), andthe retrieval processing for objects possessed by the other user isterminated.

Next, a description will be provided of the processing of executingretrieval processing and suppressing the presentation of the result ofretrieval to the user in accordance with disclosed information whenexecuting retrieval for objects possessed by other user with referenceto the flowchart of FIG. 87 and FIG. 2.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that user A uses data 18 undercabinet 16 of user B, and data 18 under cabinet 16 of user C as targetsof retrieval, and executes retrieval processing with setting retrievalconditions. It is also assumed that according to an operation conformingto the “disclosure operation”, cabinet 16 of user B is disclosed to theuser group to which user A executing the retrieval processing belongs,and cabinet 16 of user C is closed to the user group to which user Abelongs.

When user A has started the execution of retrieval processing withsetting retrieval conditions with making cabinets 16 of users B and Ctargets of retrieval, retrieval-result-display window G110 is generated(step S440). Next, the “processing not having display” shown in FIG. 85which has been described in “execution of retrieval processing inconsideration of disclosed information” is called for the assignedcabinet 16 together with the retrieval conditions (step S441). Next, theentry corresponding to the retrieved cabinet 16 is searched for objectcontrol information 110 of open tray 29 (step S442). If thecorresponding entry is present, the result of retrieval is displayed onretrieval-result-display window G110 based on information returned fromthe “processing not having display” (step S443). If the correspondingentry is absent, information causing no problem even if it is known byclosed users, information which is permitted for closed users to know,for example, in order to control the system, and the like areselectively displayed on retrieval-result-display window G110 (stepS444). Such processing is repeated for all objects possessed by otheruser assigned as targets of retrieval (step S445), and retrievalprocessing for objects possessed by the other user is terminated.

As described above, by performing highlight display or display withconnecting with a line of the icon indicating an application which canprocess data of the assigned user, or by easily presenting thecorrespondence between data of the user which can be referred to orupdated by an application and the application to the user by performingprocessing of reducing or increasing the distance between two iconsrepresenting the data and the application, and thereby presenting aneasy method of starting the application, the user can refer to or updatethe data without knowing the method of starting the application andwithout being aware of the correspondence between the data and theapplication.

Furthermore, an arbitrary user can easily retrieve arbitrary disperseddata in a plurality of computer systems having a plurality of userswithout being aware of the structure and the computer system forcontrolling data, and process the retrieved data.

It becomes also possible to execute retrieval processing of arbitrarydispersed data by an arbitrary user, or display of the result of theretrieval processing in a limited manner in a plurality of computersystems having a plurality of users.

Since name 1101 of a floppy disk, and the data form of the floppy diskfor which the application differs in accordance with method of detection1102 and converter 1103 are converted so as to be suitable for theuser's own application, for example, data of other computer systems canbe copied by a simple operation.

Although in the above-described embodiments, a description has beenprovided illustrating the case of converting data of floppy disk 17,data of a portable device, such as an optical disk, a magnetoopticaldisk, a CD-ROM or the like, can also be converted. Also in the case ofusing hard disks, data in other computer system can be converted via anetwork by providing a dedicated region for that purpose.

The present invention may be applied to a system comprising a pluralityof apparatuses, or an apparatus comprising a single unit. The presentinvention can, of course, be applied also when the invention is achievedby supplying a system or an apparatus with programs.

As described above, according to the data processing apparatus of thepresent invention, the user can operate desired data without being awareof where the data is stored. The present invention also has theadvantage that the user need not be aware of the correspondence betweendata and an application program which can process the data.

Since the apparatus of the present invention includes a plurality ofdata storage means for storing respective data utilized by a pluralityof applications, determination means for determining the forms ofrespective data generated or edited by the plurality of applications,and conversion means for converting the data form of a first applicationdetermined by the determination means into a data form suitable forprocessing a second application when copying data generated or edited bythe first application to the data storage means for the secondapplication, the user need not perform an operation of converting thedata form, and therefore data having different applications can be takenin and copied by a simple operation.

In the present invention, according to the above-describedconfiguration, the time period until data is disposed, conditions andthe time of data disposal, and the size of data to be disposed can beset and changed. Hence, when the set time period has elapsed, or the setconditions and time have been satisfied, or data has a size at leastequal to the set size, the data is disposed. As a result, it is possibleto prevent wasteful occupation of data regions, and the presence of dataof lower priority for a time period more than necessary, and thereby toefficiently utilize the data regions.

While the present invention has been described with respect to what ispresently considered to be the preferred embodiments, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments. To the contrary, the present invention is intended to covervarious modifications and equivalent arrangements included within thespirit and scope of the appended claims. The scope of the followingclaims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompassall such modifications and eqivalent structures and functions.

1-4. (Cancelled)
 5. An information processing apparatus connected to anetwork, comprising: a receiving means for receiving a request foraccess to data from other information processing apparatuses connectedto said network; a reading means for reading the data requested foraccess, the request of which is received by said receiving means; adetermining means for determining an access right set to said datarequested for access; and a sending means for sending data whereincontents of the data are varied according to a grade of said accessright determined by said determining means.
 6. An information processingapparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a setting means forsetting said access right to data.
 7. A method of processing informationusing an information processing apparatus connected to a network, saidmethod comprising the steps of: receiving a request for access to datafrom other information processing apparatuses connected to said network;reading the data requested for access, the request of which is receivedby said receiving step; determining an access right set to said datarequested for access; and sending data wherein contents of the data arevaried according to a grade said access right determined by saiddetermining step.
 8. A method of processing information according toclaim 7, further comprising a step of setting said access right to thedata.
 9. A program in an information processing apparatus connected to anetwork, said program comprising the program structures of: receiving arequest for access to data from other information processing apparatusesconnected to said network; reading the data requested for access, therequest of which is received by said receiving program structure;determining an access right set to said data requested for access; andsending data wherein contents of the data are varied according to agrade of said access right determined by said determining programstructure.
 10. A program in an information processing apparatusaccording to claim 9, further comprising a program structure of settingsaid access right to the data.
 11. A storage medium which contains aprogram according to claim
 9. 12. A storage medium which contains aprogram according to claim
 10. 13. An information processing systemhaving a plurality of information processing apparatuses connected to anetwork, comprising: an access means wherein one of the plurality ofinformation processing apparatuses accesses to data stored by anotherinformation processing apparatus; a display means for displayingcontents of the data accessed by said access means; a setting means forsetting a graded access right to said data by said access means; adetermining means for determining the access right set by said settingmeans; and a display control means for varying a display by said displaymeans according to the grade of said access right determined by saiddetermining means.